Nutrition

October 16, 2015 By Robyn

Chickadee Kitchen: Fun Fall Recipes (Beyond Butternut)

We’ve got another warm and sunny weekend in store for us here in Colorado, but the snow will be flying soon – and I can’t wait. My poor grill is worn out and I’m itching to get back in the kitchen. Bring on the El Nino!

In the meantime, I’ve been soaking up the sun while I can and scouring the internet for fun Fall recipes. Thought I’d share a couple with y’all that I can’t wait to whip up…

The one ingredient I want to include more of in my diet are beans. Garbanzo beans (chickpeas) are packed with fiber and are an excellent source of molybdenum, manganese, folate and copper.

Check out this Spaghetti Squash and Chickpea Meatball recipe. Might just give it a whirl on Sunday.

My friend Dani over at Clean + Delicious just posted this Sweet and Savory Acorn Squash dish. Hearty + healthy + yet another reason to buy more of the gorgeous squash I’m seeing all over.

XO ~Robyn

I work with fun + smart + courageous women who want a healthier body AND a more delicious life! No calorie counting required. Simply c lick here to schedule a free Discovery Session or email me directly at robyn@chickadeeweightloss.com.

Robyn Spurr is a Once Obese Chick, Eating Disorder Survivor, Certified Weight Loss Coach, Personal Trainer and founder of Chickadee Weight Loss.

She helps women learn to manage their emotions without food and reach their healthy, natural weight without all the diet craziness.

October 21, 2013 By Robyn

How to Dine Out Without Overdoing It (5 Simple Tips)

A few weeks ago, my husband and I celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary over an exquisite meal at Martyrs Steakhouse in Taos, New Mexico.

There is often great temptation to overeat when dining out – and it’s easy to give ourselves permission to do so. Any number of sabotaging thoughts can come into play:

This is a once in a lifetime experience.
Lobster Mac ‘N Cheese! I’ll never get the opportunity to try this again. (yes, it was on the menu – OMG).
It’s our anniversary.
We’re celebrating!
I’ll get back on track tomorrow.

I’ve got good news and bad news for you my sweet Chickadee.

The bad news first – our bodies don’t give a hoot what day it is – extra calories are still going to be stored as fat, even if it’s our anniversary (or 50th birthday or Thanksgiving).

The good news – you can absolutely savor the experience and not walk out the door with a doggie bag full of regret.

Here are five of my favorite tips for not overdoing it when dining out:

1. Decide In Advance

Most restaurants post their menus online. I highly encourage you to take a look ahead of time. This allows for plenty of time to review the options and make a good decision without feeling rushed or pressured by Aunt Mary to order the Six Cheese Lasagna. Our empty bellies and the smells wafting from the kitchen can make it easy to give into temptation. Walking through the front door knowing what you’re going to order will set you up for success.

2. The Finish Last Game

We stop eating when we’re either satisfied or our food is gone. Portion sizes at restaurants can be enormous – and if you eat too quickly, you might blow right past your point of satisfaction. When eating out with others, slow down your pace and try to be the last one to finish. Slowing down makes it easier to notice your level of contentment – which often arrives well before your plate is clean. This leads us to #3.

3. Don’t Eat Until You’re Stuffed

Hara Hachi Bu is Japanese for eat until you are 80% full. Stopping at 80% is a great strategy to avoid overdoing it. Of course, we can’t know when we’re exactly at 80%, but since our brain usually lags behind our stomach at recognizing fullness, this strategy can help us avoid needing to discreetly unbutton our jeans (we’ve all done it).

4. Don’t Pick Once You’re Done

You’ve successfully slowed down and stopped at 80%. Hooray! Now it’s time to get rid of that plate so you’re not tempted to pick on the rest of the potatoes. When you see the waiter, wave him or her down and ask them to take your plate away or pack up the leftovers. No waiter in sight? Cover your plate with your napkin and place the knife and fork on top. Out of sight, out of mouth.

5. On the Side Please

I ordered a gorgeous Petite Filet at my anniversary dinner and had a choice of sauces to accompany it. One of the options was a creamy wild mushroom sauce – which sounded divine, but was likely loaded with calories and fat. So I asked for it on the side and simply dipped my fork in before each bite. I used less than 1/4 of the sauce and still got to enjoy the heavenly flavor. Always ask for dressings and sauces on the side. Always.

Robyn Spurr is a Certified Health Coach, Weight Loss Coach, Personal Trainer and founder of Chickadee Weight Loss. She helps women reach their healthy, natural weight and stay there without all the diet craziness.

For more information on Weight Loss Coaching, click here.

October 3, 2013 By Robyn

What Your Compulsion is Trying to Teach You

Imagine your most recent episode of overeating. What words might you choose to describe your actions? Here are a few common responses I hear.

Bad
Disgusting
Out of Control
Weak
Powerless
Broken
Hopeless

I’m going to ask you to reconsider and try on the following words instead.

Connection
Powerful
Survival

We ordinarily think of compulsive eating as a “bad” thing – something we ought to be ashamed of.

In reality, our compulsions around eating serve two very powerful purposes: to numb out undesirable feelings and to bring us comfort. As children, we’re not always capable of handling the intensity of the feelings we’re presented with. Feelings like fear, abandon, grief, panic or inadequacy.

We learn early on that eating all the cookies can temporarily distract us from these feelings. We discover a way to cope – and then we practice this method of coping over and over.

Instead of beating yourself up over your compulsion, recognize that your eating is likely a survival system you created to help manage all the overwhelming experiences of your life. Your compulsion around food is not evidence that you are weak. It’s evidence that you found a way to endure when your options were limited.

Using food to manage our emotions – to numb and comfort was once necessary. But as adults, we must learn new ways to take care our ourselves. The repercussions of using food are too high.

We can choose to manage our emotional lives without turning to food. We can stop “shutting ourselves up” with food. We can begin to experience, reconnect and give ourselves the attention we deserve. We can learn from our emotions instead of covering them up with ice cream.

By tuning in instead of numbing out, you will finally learn to be fully awake in your body and compassionate with yourself. And you’ll begin to replace your old method of taking care of yourself with a new system – one that will lead to a healthy body inside and out.

For more information on Weight Loss Coaching, click here.

May 15, 2013 By Robyn

3 Ways to Measure Progress (without the scale)

I’m helping my friends over at Orange Theory Fitness with their 6-Week Weight Loss Challenge and we’re currently at the half-way point. The question I’m getting most often from participants is this…

How come the scale isn’t moving? Help!

Where to begin with this one?

First of all, if I were designing a weight loss challenge (I prefer transformational challenge), the scale would be tossed out the window, used for target practice or locked in a dungeon filled with ogres. I’m partial to #3.

Trying to lose weight can mess with our heads – big time. I call this diet mentality. And the scale contributes to this way of thinking.

Do you let the number on the scale affect your mood? Do you weigh yourself obsessively? Do you designate certain foods as “forbidden” and follow strict eating guidelines? Do you exercise until you fall over?

Then this post is for you.

Here’s the bottom line – you’re stressing out your body sister. Creating huge energy deficits via calorie restriction and exercise causes the body think it’s experiencing famine. Yes, famine! So you know what happens? Lots of stuff, but the two biggies are the release of stress hormones and a slowed down metabolism.

Now stress hormones are good if there really is a famine or a tiger chasing you. But not so much when you’re trying to lose weight.

Here are a few of my basic guidelines for healthy (sane) weight loss:

1. Eat real food 90% of the time. Don’t over-think this one. If it comes from nature, eat it. If it comes from a factory, ditch it.

2. Enjoy whatever you LOVE 10% of the time without guilt. For me this is chocolate, wine and an occasional slice of pizza or bagel. What’s great about this approach is that it’s a way of eating you can adopt for the rest of your life. And that’s how you lose weight and keep it off.

3. Eat when you’re physically hungry and stop when you’re satisfied. Then wait until you’re physically hungry again. Honor your body and it’s requirements for fuel. I call this using the Hunger Scale. If you want to see a copy of the scale I use with clients, feel free to contact me and I’ll zip it right over.

Back to the #$%&@! scale.

The scale has a tendency to bring up unpleasant emotions. Even when it goes down, we often wish we had lost more. And if it goes up, oh lordie – our brains go haywire.

I’m all about creating good feelings. Good feelings encourage and motivate us to keep moving forward. So how do you track your progress without the scale? It’s easy!

1. How do you feel? Are you stronger? Feel sexier? Have more energy? More stamina? Sleeping better? Awesome! Keep going.

2. How do your clothes fit? This is an indication of inches lost. If you’re weight training, you’ll be creating muscle and one pound of muscle takes up less space than one pound of fat.

So while the scale may stay the same, you are actually smaller. I love this image from Jason Seib’s website of his client Deb. She is 155 pounds in both photos. The “magic” of muscle.

And if you’re not training, you absolutely should be for a number of reasons. Call me if you’re in the southern burbs of Denver, I specialize in training obese women and brand newbies or join your local Orange Theory Fitness or find a certified trainer in your area or an awesome online strength coach like Suzanne. Strong is the new skinny!

3. Use circumference measurements. I get it – it’s nice to have some concrete numbers to look at. Get that tape measure out record your measurements (chest, waist, hips). Don’t expect big changes in one week. Wait at least 6-8 weeks and take them again. Evidence that you’re shrinking!

Stop trying to reach an “ideal weight” and instead, pay attention to how you look and feel. Don’t let a silly box on the floor steal your joy. Step away from the scale if it’s causing you grief and try out one of the methods listed above instead.

Feelings of discouragement will lead to giving up – I promise you. Focus on the small wins and ride those good feelings all the way to a healthier, happier you.

For more information on Weight Loss Coaching, click here.

Nutrition

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