Many people I work with don't want to tell anyone that they are trying to get healthy. They are setting themselves up for failure. Let's face it - most social events involve food and drinks! Getting your network involved in your goals will help you tremendously. The next time you are staring down that margarita, bowl of chips and salsa, or trying to resist the loaf of bread while waiting for dinner --- they will be there to support you. And, when you lose weight, come off of your medications, and get back into those pants that have been hanging in the back of your closet for (ahem) a year or more, they will feel like they were part of your success journey. Who knows? You may even get a work out buddy out of your conversations with friends. You can't do it alone so speak up. Let your family, friends and co-workers help you!
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As an avid football fan, I am often asked how I manage my waistline during football season. Alcohol and traditional tailgate foods can pack on the pounds! But it's really pretty easy to enjoy rich, decadent and totally football friendly food. So today I thought I'd take a picture of what my husband and I will eat during the playoff games. This is easy, extremely satisfying, and delicious!
I have blue goat cheese, Wisconsin cheddar, and jarlsberg surrounded by hazelnuts, multi-grain crackers, pink lady apple slices and ginger snaps. YUMMY! Today we are in the mood for white wine which is definitely more friendly than beer. I'd love to hear what ideas you have for easy, healthy football food! Today, I had the pleasure of working in my Atlanta office with clients. Some did great over the new year (one lost 3 pounds since Christmas!) and some are thankfully, BACK ON THE WAGON. I kept thinking to myself today, what is it that makes one person successful and someone else stuck? From my perspective, it boils down to one thing - showing up. Clients who get to goal do so because everyday they put one foot in front of the other and surround themselves with tools that work for them to make their journey easier, simpler, and faster. I'm one of those tools. 100% of clients that did well over the holidays have made weekly weigh-ins a priority. 100% of my clients who didn't do well - haven't weighed-in since before Christmas. So, weighing-in is important. What do we do in a weigh-in? Talk. What do we talk about? Who knows? Usually my first question is, "what's the most important thing for us to talk about?" You decide. Today, I talked about the following subjects with clients: meal planning for the weekend, goal setting for a 20 pound weight loss by a February birthday, how to jump-start weight loss with a quick boost, the need for kitchen organization, a new boyfriend who didn't know my client was with me weighing-in, budgeting, coming off of thyroid medications, hormone testing and how I could help a client's co-workers lose weight. As you can see, we can talk about anything. Why is this important? Because most of us are so darn busy doing everything for everyone else that we don't have time in the day to stop and think about what WE need. I believe that being overweight is not the problem. Being overweight is the symptom that your life is out of balance. Usually, when life is out of balance, it's because we forgot to take care of ourselves. Working with a weight loss coach is great because you are guaranteed time to think about what you need - big picture, little picture, planning, teaching, emotional support. You have someone to bounce ideas off of and to give you strategies for quicker, faster, easier weight loss. I have the benefit of doing this for 11 years and have pretty much seen it all. Why re-invent the wheel when there may have been someone else who has already worked through your issue. I can share their solutions with you and save you the frustration. Wouldn't that be great? But you have to make the decision to show-up and open-up. My clients who are rockin' right now believe that 30 minutes a week to share ups and down, prepare and plan for the week ahead, and get measured, weighed and fussed over is worth it. They know they deserve to be successful. And that's why they show up. They show up regardless of their progress. And as a result, they progress! I'm looking for a few people to repeat an experiment I did last year that blew my mind. Please let me know if you are interested in doing this. Last year, I took the same grocery list and shopped at 4 local grocery stores using no coupons. The price difference was incredible. Over $40 difference for the same items! Of course, the most expensive place was where I had been shopping - Kroger. I have a rewards card and use their gas privileges so I felt like that was my best deal --- but the price difference was so huge --- it really wasn't. Trader Joe's was the cheapest, even cheaper than Wal-Mart, and although they don't always have the name brand you might want, I find their products to be great quality. If you are interested in repeating this experiment, let me know and I will post your findings. What did you shop for? Where was cheapest? Are you going to switch stores because of this? Laughter is going to rank much higher on my list than it did in 2012. Between a freak bee sting that required a trip to the hospital, a foot injury that wouldn't quit, and my kids passing the same virus around our house all fall - there hasn't been a lot to laugh about. But that's about to change - because laughter is the best medicine right?
Studies show that happy people are healthy people. People who laugh more, weigh less. Maybe it's because laughter releases endorphins that make you feel good so you're less likely to grab the pint of ice cream in a moment of weakness. So this year, when you are making your resolutions to get healthy, consider laughing more. It's a great ab workout too! Obesity is now the leading cause of preventable death - surpassing smoking. We have a diabetes epidemic on our hands. And in case you haven't heard, a healthcare crisis. Taxpayers spend billions of dollars for treatment of avoidable weight related health issues. Your primary care physician may be your first choice for assistance with most health-related issues, but according to a new study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, primary care physicians agree they may not be the best health care professionals to give weight related counseling. According to this study of over 500 physicians, 93 percent reported that including body mass index (BMI) as a fifth vital sign would be helpful; 89 percent reported that including diet and exercise tips in patients’ charts would be helpful; 85 percent reported that having scales that calculate BMI would be helpful and 69 percent reported that adding BMI to patients’ charts would be helpful. They found that only 44 percent of primary care physicians reported success in helping obese patients lose weight and that primary care physicians identified nutritionists and dietitians as the most qualified providers to care for obese patients. Read more here: http://www.stonehearthnewsletters.com/docs-say-they-are-under-qualified-and-lacking-necessary-education-to-treat-obesity/medical-errors/ There is an old saying that I find to be true when it comes to goal setting, if you don't know where you are going, anywhere is just fine. The reason we goal set, is to make sure that you end up where you actually want to go - not just in some random place that may or may not be great. If you wanted to go on vacation, you probably wouldn't get in your car and drive without having an idea of where you were going. Don't get me wrong, spontaneous road trips are fun. But what happens when you run out of gas and realize you left your wallet at home? A goal with some planning goes a long way and ensures you get the most bang for buck. When we decide our destination, we can work backwards to figure out the steps we need to take. When are we going? How much money do we need? What's the weather like? Who's going with us? Without knowing the destination, we can't answer these other questions. Life becomes a daily walk of chance. Some of us get lucky, but some of us don't. So why does goal setting often fail or why do people choose to not goal set? This is a question I deal with all the time with my weight loss clients. One common problem my clients face is they set realistic goals but they fail to plan. Just saying you want to lose 50 pounds doesn't actually do anything. If only we could close our eyes, click our heels, and magically be 50 pounds lighter! Without the planning, goals are just words. When do you want to lose 50 pounds by? How will you make time for exercise and meal planning? Who will be on your support team? What will you eat differently at home or restaurants? What will you do at a social event when you are surrounded by delicious treats? Planning and preparing for obstacles will help you reach that goal. Another common problem is people set goals without a motivating vision. When I decide to go on vacation it's because I want to have uninterrupted time with my spouse to reconnect, make magical memories with my kids and rest. These all sound really good to me. When you decide to lose weight, it can't just be to lose 50 pounds. It has to be connected with a vision. What will happen when you lose 50 pounds? How will you be a better version of yourself? What will change in your life once you achieve this goal? If you decide you're going to make more money and have more sex -- you're probably more likely to lose that 50 pounds. Unrealistic goals are another problem. I once had a client who lost 15 pounds in a month and was upset because she wanted to lose 30 pounds in 30 days. It took a lot of work to get her to understand that 15 pounds in one month is a fantastic accomplishment. Her unrealistic goal made her feel like she had failed -- when really, she was extremely successful. We were able to work around this but often times, we throw in the towel because we feel like we are failing when we don't reach a goal that was unrealistic. And finally, I truly believe there is a difference between goals and sorry to put it crassly, but crap you gotta do. Goals enhance your life, they give you hope, and focus on your strengths and talents. When we set goals around priorities that push us toward our best life possible, we do them. But don't confuse crap you gotta do with goals. Can you set a short-term goal to clean out your refrigerator by Saturday? Sure. Will you do it? Hopefully. But that goal has a shelf-life and the truth is you could pay someone just as easily to come over and clean out your fridge. A winning goal is something that you and only you can achieve for yourself. With the new year, this is a great time to check-in with yourself and remind yourself of the person you know you can be. Establishing goals that are consistent with your values and dreams will help ensure you end up where you want to go. Taking the time to prepare and plan for obstacles will provide you with a road map to get to your destination. Keep your motivation alive by having a strong, compelling vision in your head of what's going to happen when you reach your goal. And finally, making sure your goal is realistic will prevent you from feeling frustrated and giving up. You can't drive to Paris if you live in the U.S. So if you are taking a road trip, you might want to pick a different destination! I sincerely hope whatever your destination is in 2013, you get there! So my household is sick once again. My son was up early this morning with a fever and sore throat. He is pitiful. And that means another day of balancing work, a sick child and keeping #2 sequestered so she doesn't catch anything. I'm running through my mental rolodex of home remedies for cold/flu/fever but honestly I don't have anything that great other than feed a fever/starve a cold. I am interested in hearing any family concoctions or recipes you may have that could help keep him comfortable and keep the rest of us healthy! Please share :) Yesterday, I was in my Columbus market meeting with a radio DJ who wants to endorse our program. She used the program in Jacksonville years ago and has 12 pounds she wants to get off. She said she just feels better when she is on our plan and the structure and accountability make a difference for her. It is so exciting to meet people who have been touched by the MRC brand and want to share their successes. I can't wait to start working with her. Welcome Casey from 106.1 FM! My team also received a great compliment yesterday when we were invited by St. Francis Hospital to be part of their patient handbook that they give to every patient. They are very specific about who they invite because they care about the health and wellness of their patients. We have a number of nurses who use our programs and for them to invite us to be included is such a compliment to my team. Columbus ROCKS - I'm proud of you guys! And of course, while preparing to film my live Dee Armstrong spot, the President cut in with breaking news. We weren't sure if I was going to get to go on but in the nick of time his press conference ended and my segment was the only one to air live. I can actually say that on a major TV network I followed the President of the U.S. Columbus, GA is getting healthy and I am proud to be a part of it! |
In the news
Claire is regularly featured as a weight loss expert on TV/radio shows across the Southeast representing Metabolic Research Center. Here she is with Ali Vincent winner of The Biggest Loser in Enterprise, AL. Click here for other links.