stephanie dexter -

A new day. A new year. A new "weigh".

Dearest Friends,

This month, our newsletter focuses on how we can become successful at being healthy in 2007. What steps do we need to take to make our journey one that will last longer than the average resolution (6 weeks) and one that is "doable and liveable"?

This year will be different. Picture it - feeling strong and capable, confident and fit. What does that look like to you? Are you biking, playing with your children or grandchildren, running, swimming, wearing a bikini or wedding dress? What will 2007 look like to you?

"Stephanie’s 10 Strategies for Success"

1. Start small

Yes, that’s right. Change takes time and so does creating new habits. If you’ve never liked drinking water, then start by drinking 4 glasses/day and build your way up to 8. If you don’t exercise, aim for 20minutes/3 times per week instead of an hour at the gym everyday. If you hate vegetables, aim to try a new one once per week. Here’s the hard truth - You are not on the show "The Biggest Loser" and you are not going to lose 20lbs this week. You can lose 2lbs though and that, my friends is a start.

2. Build healthy habits

It takes doing something consistently for over a month before it becomes a habit. One of the most healthy you can do for yourself is eat breakfast. It gets your metabolism going so it can burn fat. Start eating breakfast and do it everyday just like brushing your teeth.

3. Visualize your goal

I couldn’t imagine what I would look like at a healthy weight because as an adult, I had never been at one. I could imagine what it felt like to walk without getting winded and bike with my children or to run up my stairs. I could also visualize what it would be like to not struggle into a pair of nylons or to be able to slide into a booth. These were small victories, but necessary steps on my way to achieving my goals. Think of your goals everyday, as they need steps and then action.

4. Put it on paper

Writing down your goals, blogging, tracking your food choices or your fears assist us in dealing with what happens in "real life". It’s a great tool too for those of us who are emotional eaters as we can recognize the emotional triggers and deal with them.

5. Be consistent.

Just like climbing a hill requires a lot of effort, once at the top and then tobogganing down, we gain momentum. Consistent action has more power to change than you can imagine.

6. Never stop learning.

Changing your lifestyle is a process - a journey. Every chance you get learn about nutrition, fitness, and your emotional well being.

7. Share the news

It’s very difficult to achieve something important alone. Ask for support from family, friends, online, your physician, everyone you can. If joining a group works for you, then join. Don’t be ashamed - you are, after all, doing something about it!

8. Be prepared.

We all make mistakes or have setbacks and this experience will not be the exception to that rule. Be ready for it and be ready to learn from it. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off and remember what you learned.

9. Trust what you are doing.

Over Christmas, I wasn’t feeling well. I did, in fact, manage to make healthy food choices and get my exercise in. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to eat as much as I normally would because of the flu. When I weighed myself last week, I had put on 5lbs! How could that be??? I hardly ate, choose relatively well when I did and still exercised. I had to have faith in what I was doing. My body was just reacting to being ill and I had to trust that I was still doing healthy things for me. Trust yourself.

10. Celebrate!

This is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate you and what you are capable of. Small celebrations when you reach each goal are necessary. Reward your effort and changing lifestyle every chance you get. This is not a chore but a chance to be the best "you" ever!

"Stephanie's is sharing the secret- Ways to stay in the 5%"

What makes us "tick", how have we become one of the 5% and how can you become one too? You are not doomed to be one of the 95% of people who lose weight, regain it and struggle for years. We can change that here, right now.

Here are some of the things the 5% do:

1. Let people know.

We tend not to keep our health efforts to ourselves. We ask for support, we recruit buddies and supportive people to share stories with, guide us, give encouragement and we provide them with the same. It is shown that just by writing down your goals or sharing them you increase your chances of success.

2. Have purpose.

Setting themselves up for success, reading, asking questions, and tracking progress all play into the getting healthy strategy. We don’t fool ourselves or rely on chance to make things happen. We are aware of the food we eat; make opportunities to stay healthy happen and pay attention to what, how, when and why we do what we do.

3. Change is a process.

This is not a sprint and we know that it’s not going to happen overnight. We are creating new habits and realize, that although sometimes frustrating, the rewards may not show immediately. Patience Grasshopper.

4. Allow themselves to fail…and then get back at it.

It’s a guarantee. We’ve all done it - developed vacation amnesia and chosen not to eat and live healthfully - only to have paid the price with a 10lb gain. Here’s the difference…we learn from it, forgive ourselves and then we move on.

5. Be Optimistic.

The reason our healthy lifestyle sticks around is because it feels good! We have fun and love the way we feel about ourselves and goals that we’ve accomplished. The cup is "half full" not "half empty". Life is great! We are in control and we are making a difference.

This month’s recipe is one that I love and so do my kids. I love muffins, but they are often loaded with fat, sugar and way too large. This recipe is from one of Canada’s top nutritionists, Liz Pearson ( www.lizpearson.com ). Another excellent site for information, food trackers and eating healthy ideas is the Dieticians of Canada site at www.dietitians.ca

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Dry Ingredients

1 cup / 250 mL whole-wheat flour
3/4 cup / 175 mL wheat bran
3/4 cup / 175 mL ground flaxseed
1/4 cup / 50 mL mini chocolate chips
1 tbsp / 15 mL baking powder
1 tsp / 5 mL baking soda
1 tsp / 5 mL cinnamon

Wet Ingredients

1 1/2 cups / 375 mL mashed banana, approx. 4-5 really ripe bananas
3/4 cup / 175 mL dark brown sugar
3/4 cup / 175 mL buttermilk
1 omega-3 egg

1. Preheat the oven to 400ºF/200ºC.
2. Line a muffin tin with large paper cup liners.
3. In a large bowl mix together all the dry ingredients using a fork or a wire whisk.
4. In a medium bowl beat together all the wet ingredients. The mashed banana really needs to be mixed in well.
5. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix till just combined.
6. Put in muffin cups and bake for about 20 minutes or until done.

ONE SERVING

190 Calories
5.2 g protein
5.8 g fat
6.0 g fiber
217 mg sodium
31 g carbohydrate

What are your goals for 2007? What are you going to do differently this week? Today? Right now?

I share with you my favourite quote. It’s in my office right in front of my computer and I hope it touches your heart.

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, "Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you NOT to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are ALL meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people the permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others." MaryAnne Williamson

Stephanie

***THIS INFORMATION IS PROVIDED WITH THE UNDERSTANDING THAT Stephanie and www.stephaniedexter.com ARE NOT ENGAGED IN THE RENDERING OF MEDICAL ADVICE OR RECOMMENDATION. YOU SHOULD NOT RELY ON THE CONTENTS OF THIS PAGE OR INFORMATION CONTAINED ON THIS WEBSITE TO REPLACE CONSULTATIONS WITH QUALIFIED HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS TO MEET YOUR INDIVIDUAL MEDICAL NEEDS.***

· Resources found and researched at sparkpeople.com

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