Newsletter Archives

A Weighty Issue - December 2006

December is here already…and in many peoples mind, it strikes fear. Socializing, food and drink everywhere you turn and it’s all so good.

What are you to do? As someone working at getting healthy, in this issue we will share some tricks and tips to make life a bit easier.

This month, we welcome input from a successful "maintainer" - Lindsay Bell. She shares with us her insight into how her relationship with food changed and how she still must be careful as to keep her focus on staying healthy.

My words of wisdom to you about this month - RELAX! Relax about the schedule, about your commitments and most of all, about food. The food won’t overcome you if you don’t give it all that power. Remember - you and your health are the priority. Pace yourself, drink your water, get a goodnight’s rest and eat your veggies!

When faced with tray after tray of goodies, ask yourself, is this store bought chocolate worth it? How am I going to feel 15 minutes after I eat it? Guilty, upset, disappointed? No, if I’m okay with it, then I will be okay having one. If you feel badly, when faced with those choices, remember that feeling!

Moderation and perspective will help you negotiate the holidays successfully. Am I going to have a small piece of my Grandmother’s white fruit cake that is only made for Christmas - yes! And I will enjoy it, once.

Many of us will find ourselves in a variety of locations this season. This week, I’ll find myself at the airport and then a hotel in Vancouver. Some will travel by car and plane, so here are a few tips to assist you in healthier food choices while traveling.

At the airport, avoid the "what the hell" effect, commonly known as "vacation amnesia". This syndrome affects those going on vacations who decide that means vacationing from healthier food choices too, commonly followed by copious amounts of alcohol. Take instead the fluid and fibre approach.

• Apple and Water
• Low fat yogurt parfaits
• Lean meat subs and fruit
• Salads and veggies with dip

At the gas station, keep in mind the "look, but don’t touch" approach. Buy yourself some water, gum and pack decent snacks before you go.

The Mall - Yes, we will all enter one this season. Keep in mind the best thing you can do for yourself…eat before you go and be well rested. Take a list. Be prepared. In the food court, watch your serving sizes and consider these choices:

Note the common theme, water, rest and planning. Plan to be healthy - you can do it!

When I began my weight loss journey at 211 pounds I thought it would be wonderful to be less than 200 pounds. The idea that I might one day wear a size 12 seemed like a far off dream that was perhaps out of my grasp. As I embarked on my journey I really was amazed with the ways in which the changes I was making to my lifestyle were giving me more life and simultaneously less weight. As the pounds wandered off, I was surprised to find out that I wasn’t "big-boned" and the obesity I had lived with since age four had everything to do with poor food choices and poor motivations for weight loss. I began to understand the ways in which changing my diet also required that I change my outlook on life. I learned to plan meals, but I also learned to spend my time doing things that I cared about in ways that nourished my sense of well-being. I actually became a "nicer" person! I spent more time building myself, and less time trying to tear others down, or worry about the ways in which they were tearing me down.

At 125 pounds, I felt energetic, happy and inspired. I started my PhD this fall and the change of pace and the introduction of new stresses and routines into my life served as a reminder that the learning journey is unending. When you lose weight, many (well-intentioned) people in your life will make comments meant to encourage, support or congratulate you. What I realize now is that I began to allow those compliments to be the basis of my motivation for weight loss. I began too equate their love and support with my physical shell appearing the way it does now. I began to "fear" food. Just as I had before losing the weight, my relationship with eating became solely about weight and other people’s impressions of me. Sure enough in this frazzled state, I lost sight of healthy habits and began to gain weight. Through the support of my partner I realized I needed to "press my reset button".

What had I learned so far about healthy weight loss and maintenance? What were the motivations for weight loss that had inspired me through the past years? How had the emphasis shifted from making a healthy me for me, to a skinny me for others? As I work through these questions, I am putting myself back on the path that had initially brought me so many successes through many sizes.

If I were to offer advice to those on their weight loss journey, I would ask where are you placing your emphasis? What are the expectations you have for yourself? How/ who helped to shape those expectations? Are those expectations flexible enough to allow you to be supportive of yourself throughout this journey? Can your journey be one where "failures" are always recast as opportunities for growth? I am constantly re-asking myself these questions. I have reframed this unending process as exciting rather than exhaustive. Allow yourself the chance to reset, reframe and re-place your emphasis on what you have come to see as truly central to your healthy life.

We love to entertain. We love good food and we love it when it’s healthy. If you are planning on entertaining this month, control your menu and show your guests that food can be healthy and tasty too.

Thanks to the lovely ladies at Eat, Shrink and Be Merry - Janet and Greta Podleski, I share with you my two favorite dip recipes. Great with veggies or whole-wheat pita, your guests will have no idea that these are simply anything other than fabulous.

1- 19oz chickpeas, drained and rinsed

¼ cup light sour cream

2 Tbsp tahini

2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 tsp minced garlic

1 tsp grated lemon zest

½ tsp toasted sesame oil

½ tsp each salt and granulated sugar

¼ tsp each ground cumin and ground coriander

• Place all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and whirl until smooth. Serve with veggies or warm pita

Calories: 104, Fat 3g, fiber 3.1g per ¼ cup serving

2 cups light sour cream

4 oz light cream cheese, softened

¼ cup light Miracle Whip

1 envelope Knoor Vegetable soup mix

1-cup chunky style salsa

• Beat together all ingredients using an electric beater. Refrigerate for 2 hours before serving.