Robyn Spurr

Personal Health and Weight Loss Coaching For Women

Simplify

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Overcoming the Food Journal Barrier

If there’s one thing I get resistance to when coaching clients, it’s keeping a food journal. Back when I was a Weight Watchers member drop out (x4), I despised keeping a journal. I came up with every excuse in the book to not have to use that dang sliding points finder and write in my log.

  • It takes too long (bull, I’ve journaled on and off for years and it’s possible to do it in minutes a day)
  • I don’t need a food journal to lose weight (there is tons of research that proves tracking works)
  • I know how much I’m eating (have you ever tried to recall what you consumed at the end of the day? Try it, good luck.

Looking back, I ate a lot of Weight Watchers products because the points were conveniently listed on the packaging (very clever of them), but that stuff was seriously PROCESSED. Listed below are the ingredients in Weight Watchers Smart Ones Sesame Chicken.

Warning: NOT real food!

Bottom line, I was making excuses because I didn’t want to do it. I was tapping into my inner emotional child by pouting and proclaiming, I don’t need no stinkin’ journal!

If the picture above confuses you, you really ought to watch The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. What an awesome flick. But I digress. Back to journaling.

There are options when it comes to tracking your food. Journaling can be arduous and time consuming or quick, easy and effective.

Many trainers, coaches and dietitians will tell you that you have to keep a DETAILED food journal – exact portion sizes, calories counts, carbs, etc. Then, take all of that information and plug it into on online tracker like Loseit or Fitpal. I did this once and it took FOREVER! Time is not the only problem here – let me explain.

My ultimate goal is to free my clients from the relentless tracking of carbs, points and calories and instead encourage them to listen to the wisdom of their own bodies. This is a fundamental step towards liberation from the diet mentality and an unhealthy obsession with food.

I teach my clients to look inside for answers by honestly feeling their emotions (not stuffing them down with food) and by learning what true physical hunger and satiety feel like. If we pay attention (and eat real food), our bodies will tell us what to eat, how much and how often.

If my own clothes start to feel a little snug, here’s what I do. I propose you give it a try as well, BEFORE signing up for Weight Watchers for the 5th time.

Use a whiteboard, a piece of notebook paper or a document on your computer, whatever is easy and convenient for you, and write down the following – the time of day and what you ate. That’s it.

The simple act of writing down this basic information creates awareness and awareness is the key. Tracking works because we’re forced to face the music, the raw data. It’s easy to blame your weight gain on a slow metabolism or hormones when you’re ignoring the fact that you’ve been eating a bag of Doritos (1,680 calories) and 2 liters of Coke a day (820 calories). Yes, it’s an extreme example, but you get the point.

Stop hiding from the truth and write it down. You might be shocked by how much food you’re consuming in a day. Pay close attention to the quality of your choices as well. How much of your fuel is produced in a factory? How much is from nature?

Tracking is a very effective tool, but ultimately, you’ll also need to address why you’re eating when you’re not physically hungry – and that’s a bit more complicated. A coach comes in handy here (that’s me). If you think you could benefit from nutritional counseling and/or assistance discovering the why, feel free to shoot me an email. Let’s chat Chickadee!

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Operation Simplification: My 4 Step Plan

Simplifying my world has been a goal for some time now. I’ve made some, a little, okay, no progress – unless you count the stack of books I bought on how to simplify (ironic, huh).

I decided to write this post, not only to help solidify my own action plan, but to encourage others to step away from the chaos and clutter long enough to notice how it might be negatively impacting their lives.

With that, here is my plan, also known as Operation Simplification (#operationsimplification).

Step One – Unplug

Problem: I love the internet! I could spend hours (and sometimes do) reading my favorite blogs and browsing around Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. Social media is the black hole of time suck for me.

Solution: When I wake up, I tend to go straight to my office to check my email which is full of stuff like, read my latest blog post, don’t miss our one day sale and sign up for this new workshop. Before I know it, I’m buying and tweeting and pinning and reading blog posts. Starting tomorrow, I will wake up and do the following:

Create my MIT (most important things) list for the day and concentrate on these tasks only for a minimum of one hour. The MIT list will NOT include reading blogs or spending time browsing around on social media. Period.

Evenings will be designated as my new web surfing and blog reading time. After 8:00 pm, I can pin and tweet and read until the cows come home.

Solution Part 2: I’ve experimented a handful of times with unplugging completely on Saturdays. No email, no social media, nada, and I have to say – it’s rather nice.

Beginning this Friday, I will shut down my computer (just in case I’m tempted) and fire it back up on Sunday morning. A whole day of connecting with nature, myself, my family and good books sounds delightful. My own little Sabbath.

Step Two – Be Present

Problem: My mind tends to go a mile a minute. While working on one task, I’m already thinking of 10 other things that I need to do (don’t forget to send that email, put the laundry in the dryer, feed the dog, pin that cool quote to Pinterest).

Solution: Each morning, while writing my MIT list, I’ll outline a rough plan for the day and stick to it as best I can.

I’ll also plan to practice mindfulness. If I’m washing the dishes, I’ll concentrate only on the dishes, not my task list. If my mind wanders, I’ll gently bring it back to the present (good old cognitive behavioral therapy).

Update: I’ve noticed my mind wanders like crazy in the shower (send that email, print those pages, put this and that on the shopping list). Bringing my mind back to the present (the smell of my shampoo, the temperature of the water) was tough (hey, it’s only day one). I decided to sing and it helped. After my shower, I grabbed my iPod and cranked the Classical Guitar Pandora station. I can’t remember the last time I felt so serene while putting on my makeup. I love how peaceful living in the present moment feels and I want more, much more of this experience.

Step Three – Purge

Problem: I have too much stuff and subscribe to too many blogs and email lists.

Solution: Each day, I will unsubscribe from, throw out, donate or give away at least 3 things that are not essential.

Step Four – Retrain the Brain 

Problem: Our brains will choose the path of least resistance unless we intervene. When we do the same thing over and over, we create what I like to call a neural superhighway – our default mode. Creating a new neural pathway takes time and vigilance. Having a plan and accountability measures helps to speed up construction on this new, more desirable route.

Solution: I’ve set up some accountability measures. Each month I plan to write a summary of my successes (and any challenges I’ve encountered) in a blog post (dates are already on my iCal). I’ll also be tweeting my progress  via #operationsimplification. Feel free to follow along and participate if you like. Let’s start a simplification revolution!

FYI: Since I began writing this post yesterday, I’ve unsubscribed from 21 (yes, 21) email lists, 3 google alerts, 6 meetup groups, closed my LinkedIn account and purged a bunch of expired supplements that I don’t even take anymore. Off to a pretty good start!

Update 8/28/12: I lost count, but I must have unsubscribed to over 100 email notifications. I stumbled a bit with unplugging Friday night through Sunday morning, but I’m back on track. My daily MIT list is going strong and I had my first garage sale this past weekend. I made almost $200 and got rid of lots of stuff I no longer need. So what’s next? Cleaning out the cabinets and drawers in the bathroom and sorting through my closet. Goodwill, here I come!

For those of you who attend one, maybe two formal affairs each year, I found this fab-u-lous website called Rent the Runway. Instead of buying a dress you’ll never wear again, you can rent a designer dress for $50 – $200. This is the dress I’m planning to wear to the Mental Health America of Colorado Gala in October or maybe this one or oh lordie, so many choices.

See you next month with another update!

 

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Cooking Made Fun, Chickadee Style

I’m not going to give you a long spiel about the reasons you should cook at home. Let’s just cut to the chase. Who knows what the heck is going down in that restaurant kitchen!

Restaurants buy food in bulk, which typically means poor quality. When you cook your own meals, you know exactly what you’re eating.

But, I don’t have time Robyn! Oh, if I had a dollar…

Cooking at home is actually faster than dining out. Add up the time you spend driving to a restaurant, waiting for a table, deciding what you want, waiting to order, waiting for your food, waiting for the bill, and then driving home. In that amount of time you could have prepared a healthy and delicious dinner at home and avoided all that waiting!

Here’s the deal-io Chickadees, cooking doesn’t have to be drudgery. Are you crazy? Yeah, maybe a little, but if you follow my Cooking With JOY tips, you too can hop on board the crazy train and learn to LOVE cooking.

1. First stop, Pinterest! Have you heard of it? If not, you’ve got to check it out. I save all of my favorite recipes there. Instead of sorting through cookbooks and random print outs, everything is located in one convenient location online.

Pin what? No worries, check out my recipes here.

You’ll need an invite to join the site. Want one? Just shoot me an email via my contact form on this site and I’ll send you one. Easy peasy!

2. All you need to do is find at least ten recipes that you like. That’s it, just ten. You may not believe it, but that’s all most families use.

3. Designate a specific day and time for your cooking fun. Choose a time when you can block off at least 2 hours and won’t be rushed or disrupted. I can usually whip up three big dishes during this time and that’s all I need to get me and the hubby through the week. Can you say delicious leftovers?

4. Sprinkle on some FUN! This may be the most important step. I tend to do my cooking on Sunday afternoons and I usually plan my recipes that morning and head out to store for any last minute ingredients.

Once I’m ready to rock and roll, I’ll open up a nice bottle of red wine and pour myself a glass. Next on the agenda, great tunes! Play music that inspires you. For me, it’s crooners like Frank, Dean, Etta, Rosemary or Louis.

That’s it, four simple steps. And once you’re in the zone, cooking can be quite meditative. All it takes is a simple mind shift. So replace those negative thoughts about cooking with a shiny new one like…

I am nourishing myself and my family with healthy and delicious food, all while having FUN.

And don’t forget to sharpen those knives. Hmm, might make for a good video post down the road. Stay tuned and buon appetito!