We’re told that we should listen to our body. What does that even mean? Nobody ever taught me that. Was I missing from school that day? When I was on my quest to get my eating and desire for sweets under control, I was always amazed at people who could eat just one cookie. And so when I started talking to them about their eating habits, I learned that they paid attention to how food made them feel. It was something that I never thought about. Sure! I knew when I was hungry & occasionally I knew when I had overeaten, but when I started actually paying attention to my body, I learned that my body gave me subtle cues that were my body’s way of communicating with me about what it needed. Listening to your body is the first step in creating the awareness needed to decode the messages Read More . . .
Done with Dieting Episode #6: Do we need to Move More and Eat Less?
There’s no doubt that calories in vs calories out is the foundation of weight maintenance and weight loss. Yet, anyone who’s been on a diet and drastically cut calories, logged every morsel that’s passed her lips, knows the frustration and truth of being confronted with the math not working out when standing on the scale and not seeing the number that she had hoped for. So what’s that about? How is it that we can live in a calorie deficit and not lose weight? Truth is that although calories are in fact the way that we gain and lose weight, BUT there are many things happening within our bodies that are so complex – that we really don’t know why two people can eat and do the same things, and while one person will lose weight, and another won’t. In this episode of the Done with Dieting Podcast, we’re going Read More . . .
Done with Dieting Episode #5: Why We Give Up
When we start a new diet, we’re motivated. We’ve seen how effective this diet is – for example our friend Jane did amazingly well on it. And so we believe that we’ll do just as well. It happens all the time – doesn’t it? That we start a diet, initially we get some good results, and then WHAM! We step on the scale one day & we don’t lose weight – or worse, we gain. We think to ourselves, “Why are we doing this?” “This is so much work & we’re not even getting results!” “It’s not working. We should just give up.” The thing is, that we KNOW that our results (losing weight) is because of what we’re doing (eating healthier or exercising, or a combination of both) and that returning to our previous habits are going to result in our previous weight. We know that if we stay Read More . . .
Done with Dieting Episode #4: Self-Sabotage
When we’ve decided that we want to become healthier & develop healthier habits, it’s easy to slip back in to old ones – ones that don’t necessarily serve our needs, and often are in direct conflict with what we truly want. Self-sabotage is common – when we do things like when we decide to bake an entire cake knowing that no one is around to eat it. Or not being realistic in our schedule enough to know that we need to buffer in more time so that our workout time doesn’t suffer. Now – some of these things are just learning how to get good at this new behavior. But sometimes we know that we’ve totally sabotaged ourselves. Why do we do that? And more importantly, how do we stop? What you’ll Learn from this Episode Listen to the Full Episode: Full Episode Transcript: You are listening to the Done Read More . . .
Done with Dieting Episode #3: The Foundation
Sure! We want results fast. BUT fast results often lead to fast burn out too – because the changes that we need to make are drastic. One of the biggest problems that I see with diets is that we’re trying to game the system. We’ve been told by folks trying to sell the latest fad that we can eat all we want of the foods that we desire and STILL lose weight – if we follow their plan. And so we buy into the idea that we can follow their diet rules, still eat endless amounts of hyper-palatable foods, and lose the weight that we desire. It can take more time, but if we have a solid foundation of lifestyle habits, we will feel good, we won’t get huge energy fluctuations, sleep soundly, and reduce our cravings for those salty or sweet cravings that we get. This podcast episode details Read More . . .
Done with Dieting Episode #2: Why Dieting Doesn’t Work
Diets have been around for centuries as a form of manipulating our weight and bodies. And so it would be impossible to escape any messages that we have received – overt or implied – about the worthiness of our body, and therefore how to increase our worthiness by shrinking our body through restricting calories and/or over-exercising. But diets can have negative side effects on the dieter, from negative body image, low self-esteem, but there can also be biological implications to eating lower calorie counts than the body requires that result in increased hunger and the body rebounding from the lower than required calories by increasing body fat stores. Dieting and negative body image are inextricably linked. So how do we get ourselves out of this cycle? And what are the next steps? What you’ll Learn from this Episode Listen to the Full Episode: Featured on the Show: Questions: If you Read More . . .
Done with Dieting Episode #1: Introduction
Welcome to the Done with Dieting Podcast. In this episode, I will introduce myself, and share with you how I got here, my vision is for the show, and how you can be part of it. Read More . . .
Announcing the Done with Dieting Podcast!
Welcome to Done with Dieting, a podcast for the woman who wants to lose weight, but is done chasing diet after diet, feeling like a failure because they never worked out as planned, but still wants to look good in her clothes, have confidence, and feel good again. If you want to lose weight for good, fad diets and over-the-top exercise programs don’t work. AND for women over the age of 45, years of dieting and our hormones completely change the way that our bodies respond to traditional diet techniques. The techniques that we used as younger women don’t work for us anymore. Gone are the days of cutting back after a big weekend, or doubling down on our workout efforts. I know what it’s like to feel frustrated and like a failure when you stand on the scale hoping and praying that it will reveal a number that you haven’t seen Read More . . .
4 things I learned from logging my food & exercise
At some point along my weight loss journey, I realized that I wasn’t going achieve my goals and have them be life long habits if I was implementing radical and quick fix solutions. I needed to think about sustainable habits. What were those things that I could do and keep doing for years and years, and still be successful? AND if I was going to do something that wasn’t sustainable, I would acknowledge it, but if it could get me to a goal and then I could safely transition off of it, the technique would be worth a try. An example of this is food logging and wearable fitness trackers. In my guide, 7 Mistakes I made in my Fat-Loss Journey, one of the 7 mistakes that I made was being too dependent on the calories in versus calories out approach. And that’s true. I used my fitness trackers and Read More . . .
What would future you eat?
Almost every Mom that I work with, who have young kiddos, struggles to get their kids to make healthier choices. Too often when given the choice between apple slices and french fries, kids will make the decision to get the french fries. And who can blame them? French fries are tasty. Sometimes, we adults do this same thing. We have salad on the menu. We even have all the ingredients. And yet, we choose to get take out for dinner instead. What is that? And what’s it about? Past, Present, and Future There are 3 people who live inside of me (so to speak): Past Elizabeth – that’s me from 1 minute ago all the way back to when I was born. All of Past Elizabeth’s decisions, choices, impulsivity and planning have gotten me here, to where I am right this second. Future Elizabeth – that’s future me. She has Read More . . .
Ever wish you could do a Do-Over?
For our 10th wedding anniversary, Gary & I went to Italy. It was an amazing trip. We started in Venice & then travelled to Tuscany & ended up in Rome. One day, when we were in Venice, we were trying to get to the Rialto Bridge, and it seemed that no matter which direction we headed out, we’d end up in the same square! The first few times, it was funny. But then it became irritating. How often do we find a similar result in our lives? Life is not a straight line. We think it’s going to be, but most often, it’s far from that. Occasionally we’ll realize that we’re headed in the wrong direction in our lives, or not where we expected to be, I was recently listening to a podcast interview with a woman who published a crochet magazine. Although I don’t crochet or knit, and don’t Read More . . .
Should you exercise while you’re on vacation?
I live in a tourist town on the eastern coast of Mexico. We’re near Cancun & Playa del Carmen. We have a high season where we get an influx of visitors, and a low season where, we still get some visitors – just not as many. When I talk to folks who are visiting, or even my clients who will be traveling here on vacation, I hear the same fear all the time – they think that they’re going to gain weight while they’re here. But I’ve found that while living here, it’s been really easy to maintain my weight without any scales, and feel good about my diet (of course, you can be healthy and unhealthy pretty much anywhere! It’s all about our choices.) What’s the difference? For one, the restaurant portions aren’t nearly the size that they are in the states. And because imported food is more expensive, Read More . . .
Redefining Failure: 3 Steps to Overcoming Fear
I was a young bride. 24 years old. And ‘Everyday Cooking’ by Dr. Dean Ornish was all the rage. I mean, Everyday cooking? That means it’s something that I can do. Right? I don’t recall why – maybe it was because I desired to be healthier, or if I felt like it was my role as a wife to cook – but I chose a recipe from the book, bought all of the ingredients, and started following the recipe. That was 1/2 of my lifetime ago – but I still recall standing in that kitchen, looking in the pot of food, wondering where I went wrong?!? It did not look like the picture. And as the end result started to get more and more away from the picture in the cookbook, I started course correcting, however as a new cook, I ended up with a soupy mess that tasted just Read More . . .
What can Goldilocks teach us?
You know the story of Goldilocks, . Right? A little girl gets lost in the forest, and stumbles upon a house where 3 bears live, but aren’t currently inside. As she wanders through the house, trying out things that belong to the bears, everything that belongs to the Papa Bear is too big; everything that belongs to the Baby Bear is too small; but everything that belongs to the Momma Bear is just right, fits like a glove, and feels good. We can apply the Goldilocks story to our health habits and that can predict whether we’ll have success with the new habits that we decide to adopt. Will they be long term habits that feel like your favorite jeans? or will they soon get discarded like that Snuggie that your cousin gave you for Christmas? See, when we set out to create new habits for ourselves, we want to Read More . . .
We’re on TV!!
This is totally off topic, and personal, but in June 2018 we had the opportunity to be featured on House Hunters International. It was tons of fun, and we’d totally do it again even though the internet trolls came out & told us what horrible people we were because, well, the internet gives everyone a voice – whether we use that voice to spread good or spew hate is up to us. But the truth is that if Gary and I agreed on everything, if we liked everything, it wouldn’t make compelling television now, would it? It would be pretty boring. If you want to follow our treks through Mexico, you can follow us at Tex Mex Expats. Enjoy the show & we’ll see you there! Read More . . .
Weighing yourself: When & How?
Lots of gurus will tell you not to weigh yourself daily, or that you should weigh weekly, monthly, or not weigh at all and just use the mirror as your guide. I think that different people will find success in the different methods. Which one should you do? Read More . . .
Scale going up when you start exercising?
It’s the new year & you’ve started a new exercise routine. You can’t wait to jump on the scale to see all of your hard work pay off. But wait! The scale actually went UP? Well that’s not right! What’s going on?!? Read More . . .
How long until your good habits show up
It’s been a week, and you’re excited to jump on the scale – get validation on all of the hard work that you’ve been putting in with your food and exercise. You must have lost 10 lbs by now! Right? Gah! The scale doesn’t reflect what you thought! What’s going on? Here’s what I’ve learned in observing my own body, and what I’ve seen in my clients. Read More . . .
Avoid these 2 weight loss mistakes
It’s the new year, and everyone wants results yesterday. I get it. But consistency is going to give you the results that you desire. And making too many changes at once is going to lead to discomfort & not continuing with your healthy habits. Read More . . .
How certain ‘off plan’ foods can help you stick to your diet
What you need to know about buffer foods and trigger foods if you want to be able to manage your weight. Read More . . .