How to Manage Cravings!

Even when most of us like to avoid admitting that we have them, we all get cravings from time to time. Managing cravings is an enormous part of a healthy lifestyle that every personal trainer needs to address with his or her clients. If your personal trainer is not giving you helpful techniques for managing certain cravings, I suggest seeing a nutritionist or holistic practitioner. Though each person is unique and requires a personalized approach, the following can help give you a general idea of how to manage cravings and keep the body on healthy road to success.

Sugar Cravings

If you are like me and find yourself craving sugar there are several techniques that help manage your blood sugar. Because sugar is in EVERYTHING, our bodies get used to having a certain amount in our system. It is important to correct this and limit the amount of sugar. If none of these benefit you, I highly suggest you getting a blood panel to check your thyroid.

1. Gymnema Sylvestre – I discuss taking this supplement in my post about the Whole 30 and how taking this herb helped my sugar cravings. Give it a try, you can find it with the herbal supplements at your nearest nutrition market.
2. Get your sugar from raw, organic fruits and vegetables (yes some veggies do have sugar ie. carrots).
3. Try limiting sugar in baked goods by using fruit and by switching your white sugar for raw honey and coconut sugar and use it sparingly.
4. Don’t skip meals and always eat breakfast! I often get the excuse, “I don’t have time” or “I don’t like eating breakfast”, to these I always say “drink your calories!” It’s super quick and easy to make a protein smoothie at home with fresh fruits, veggies and nut butter and gulp that down instead of chewing something. But you have to continue to stimulate your metabolism by eating or drinking your calories every 3-4 hours.
5. Drink water. Lots of times when you crave sugar, you just need to drink water. Be sure to get enough pure water in your system daily.

Alcohol

glasses of alcohols

 

The majority of Americans overdo it on the alcohol and I find that lots of clients who want to cleanse their system have the hardest time letting go of their alcohol. The Center for Disease Control says that about 38 million Americans drink too much and only 1 in 6 adults talk to a health professional about it. People are considered at risk when they drink more than 14 drinks per week for men, or 7 per week for women. So when you make the choice to cut back, your body is going to have trouble with the change. So here are some ways to minimize the impact:

1. Avoid things that trigger you to drink. For many of us it is stress, so try introducing exercise, yoga, meditation or sport into your life to take our the stress with instead of relying on alcohol.
2. Realize that alcohol turns into sugar in the body so don’t replace it with sugar. If you feel the desire come on, drink some herbal tea or alkaline water and concentrate on feeling calm.
3. Avoid situations where you feel the pressure to drink. Avoid bars and clubs and find healthier ways to socialize.

Salt

Salt is everywhere in the conventional and processed food market, so there is no wonder why some individuals crave salt. So when you start to change your lifestyle and eat less processed, you will inevitably be eating less salt. Here are some ways to balance your salt intake and make sure you still get adequate amounts of salt in your daily diet:

1. On the days you workout and sweat a lot, you will lose salt along with water, so it is important to replenish that with good salts. Celtic and Himalayan are the best types of salt to incorporate into your life.
2. Season the food you cook. When you start to eat more whole, natural foods and cook your own meals, you will notice that you don’t get all the salt in the typical American diet. Too little salt can be a problem and I notice that it leads to headaches and lack of energy. So long as you season with above mentioned types of salt, you will be good to go.

Fatty Foods

For those who crave fatty foods, it is important to switch up the type of foods eaten and replace animal fats with plant-based ones. Unfortunately there is a huge stigma on fatty foods being bad for you, but this is just not entirely the case.

1. Replace most of your butters and margarines with coconut oil and olive oil. Coconut oil is super healing, and I’ve heard of nutritionists giving it to Alzheimer’s patients and it curing them, so something that powerful cannot be terrible. In addition, I never see clients with health issues who have coconut oil in their systems. Butter and other high fat dairy items can have high levels of dioxins which are not good for us.
2. Don’t be afraid of the amount of oil you use. Oils from plants and nuts keep you fuller for longer! Therefore, you will be less likely to crave more fats when you eat enough of the good fats.

Carb Cravings

This was my biggest problem for years and it took a while to really get it right. I remember being younger and dying to have a Pop Tart. Now the thought of it is so unappealing to me. It’s all about changing the way the brain works. If you are super active throughout the day then you need good carbs in the mix.

1. Eat enough good fats (see above) and proteins to keep the body full. If you workout a lot, you need to replenish your sugar levels too, so fruits and veggies are key and do contain carbohydrates that your body needs.
2. Eat every 3-4 hours and get nutrition to your body within 40 minutes following a workout. This is key to get the body to understand it does not need a giant pizza or sandwich with all that bread. The nutrition is in the plants and sustainable animal proteins.

You can battle your cravings and win effectively by following these tips. Many of them overlap so use everything you can to take the energy away from what you can’t or shouldn’t eat, and see all the amazing possibilities with what you CAN or SHOULD eat!

Skinny vs. Healthy

I love that I found this before and after image to demonstrate the difference between skinny and healthy. The girl is clearly not someone you would see on the street and think “wow that girl needs to get to a gym”. But she is a girl who many overweight women idolize.

There is so much crap out there that the diet industry shoves in your face. There is no quick fix program for anyone. That girl in the above picture ate well and worked out. End of story. I see a lot of women (and men) who lose massive amounts of weight only to look like a skinny-fat person. So what does it mean to be a skinny-fat person?

This term has been used in medical journals and health professionals over the last few years and it identifies an individual who visibly looks thin but has a high body fat percentage. Mark Hyman, MD, discusses this in his article “Are You a Skinny Fat Person? Ten Steps to Cure the Skinny Fat Syndrome”. The scientific term for this is “metabolically obese normal weight” or “MONW”. And it is just as dangerous as being obese. In fact 1 in 4 skinny people are skinny fat.

What is even more startling is that if you are diagnosed with diabetes as a skinny fat person, you have TWICE the risk of death than an overweight obese person. Hyman hypothesizes that this may be due to the fact that obese individuals have more muscle to carry around all that fat.  However the New York Times did an article in 2012 that discussed one researcher who showed that being fat and fit is better than being skinny and not fit because normal aerobic exercise helps clear the liver of fat build-up, where it may do the most damage.

This is all very disturbing but why is this happening? I would venture a guess that the reason is twofold.

1.Most people are getting the wrong information and are not eating. With all those dieting products out there, more people are being fed CRAP and fewer people are eating FOOD. See the image to the left.  It is also difficult for people to shop correctly with advertising on packages selling you on foods they claim will help you lose weight. With titles like “Special K” and “South Beach Diet” trying to sell you their laboratory created, GMO-ridden foods that are lower in calories than the Big Mac you really want. And these systems have not been around long enough to demonstrate the long-term health effects. And those that have been around probably already have lawsuits against them for false advertising (if you know me you know I have done enough research to know the products that are still on the market and have had cases ruled against their companies for being fraudulent).   Most Americans also don’t drink enough water, or eat enough fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds. And if your diet was filled with mostly fresh organic fruits, veggies nuts and seeds, you would see that there is little room for the all the CRAP and that fat would fall off your body quicker.

2. Most people are generally lazy. Because they eat poorly and work long hours, most people do not HAVE the energy they would have if they ate well to exercise and work off the calories necessary to maintain a healthy metabolic weight. And people who are already skinny do not feel the need to workout and have those nice genetics that allow them to maintain a low weight on the scale. However, as they age, they will increase their risk for illness to a higher degree than obese individuals.

Another problem is when you lose too much weight too quickly (ie. more than 5 pounds a week), by using one of those fad diets or exercising too much. Unless you are literally 400 pounds, it is physically impossible for your body to let go of that much fat that quickly unless you are literally running all day and night and eating very little. But even then you are burning through muscle too. Keep in mind that an obese individual burns a lot more calories by walking a block than a skinny person does. The reason? It takes more effort to move a large object than a small object. Basic physics for you.

Solution? Read my blog on real shopping for food. Do your own research when you see a company selling something promising to make you lose weight. Understand that companies do not care about the consumer, only the bottom line and there are LOTS of companies out there like this. That local, organic spinach farmer on the other hand, DOES actually care about you. That yoga instructor teaching you how to move your body correctly DOES care about you. That blogger putting up all her paleo recipes online for you to use DOES care about you. And I care too.

So let us try to eliminate skinny fat from the modern world and work toward healthy bodies full of muscle  with organs that work properly. Keep a realistic ideal image of how you want to look in your mind and try to attain it by eating well, being active and keeping stress to a minimum. Remember you have to be comfortable in your own body too. And That skinny fat girl you may envy who eats whatever she wants will likely get diabetes and be no more. 🙂

Eat Your Fruits and Veggies!

Realistic Expectations for your Ideal Body Image

Here’s the thing: Too many women are idolizing skinny and super ripped bodies. But the actual effort it takes to actually LOOK like one of these bodies is 120% effort all the time. So this life style is obviously very limited to few energetic, eager, and committed individuals with the actual time it takes to be physically active. Trainers, coaches, yoga instructors, and pilates teachers all have intense workout schedules that are not only consistent but very frequent and long. In addition they eat like champs. They abide by their cheat days and try to eat the highest quality and freshest foods. Once you realize that every human being is actually capable of these achieving this, it’s amazing to watch your own transformation unfold before your eyes, to whatever size you really want.

This picture has been floating around the internet which actually gives you a realistic idea of body fat percentage and how our own bodies fit within that: 

Unfortunately in America, we see too much of the bottom row and not enough of the top and middle. Now not everyone WANTS to look like the first or second image and that is O.K.! In fact, too little body fat can be dangerous as well. Our bodies like having some fat, it helps to lubricate joints and support healthy internal organs. Ideal images are going to be those 2-5 because those images are where body fat is just enough to support healthy functioning and not too much to inhibit a healthy body. Image 5 is just the high end of average, so you should probably start eating a little better but you are safe from being considered overweight. And while some men and women obsess about looking like image 1, you need to look at the consequences of being too skinny. For men, you  are going to see body functions not working so well. Men who drop this low for body-building competitions are dehydrated and suffer from cramping and decreased brain activity. Your body does need fuel! As for women, say goodbye to your periods and hello to not being able to have children.

But how does one get to those 2, 3, 4 and 5 images? By living healthy, happy and  active lives and getting plenty of good sleep, good movement and good food.  Keep in mind that individual body shapes are going to differ based on bone length, size and where we genetically settle any fat. Pay attention though because advertising, television and some of your more ignorant Facebook friends are selling you propaganda. So do your own research. And here is how, super simple actually:

1. Ask yourself, how much time do you WANT to devote to actual physical being? 30 minutes everyday? 30 minutes once a week? Or do you like the 2 hour full on training 6 days a week with a yoga session on day 7? The average individual only has about 30-45 minutes they really want to spend training per day, for just the weekdays. So expect to not look like image 1, 2 or 3!

2. Ask yourself, how often do you want to eat? This is a huge indicator. What you eat directly affects how you look. Do you rarely eat, forget to or just force yourself not to? Or are you needing to eat 10 times a day to satiate hunger? Ideally, you want to eat somewhere between 4-6 times a day and make your meals small and simple. That way you allow your metabolism to work at a proper level and your digestion system can have an easier time processing the food you give to it, making it more efficient and effective.

3. What do you want to eat? Do you crave sugar? Do you have to eat highly processed, GMO-laden foods? Or are you an Organic Pescetarian, eat Paleo/Primal, or Macrobiotic? If you want all the sugar, fats, alcohols, or can’t bear to part with any of the processed foods, you are not going to look like the first 3 images! I rarely drink, limit my sugar intake and eat organic, fresh foods all day long. At image 3, I obviously allow myself a bit of a cheating but I feel good about my body! Use your addictions as rewards for eating healthy! Turn to the better foods and you may find your palate is interested in dark chocolate or a strawberry-blueberry-coconut-water-hemp-seed smoothie. Maybe throw some spinach in the blender and see how well you can hide your greens! It is easy to eat healthy, once you get into the habit of it.

Hopefully this helps you get a sense of what body type you currently are and where you would like to see yourself go. So get out there, learn new movements, new foods to eat, and new ways to battle illness.  And maybe, just maybe you will reach your goals sooner than you expected!

Cleansing and Fasting

Fasting and cleansing date back thousands of years. Many religions use fasting as a way to cleanse the entire body and reach some higher enlightenment. In today’s society, Groupon advertises for cleansing products all the time. They all promise something: “lose 15 pounds in 1 day*” followed by tiny print regarding how individual results may vary. Yes, individual results certainly WILL vary.

While it is important to detox every once in a while and rid the body of excess toxins, it is more important to do this in a healthy, safe manner, preferably under the supervision of a doctor, nutritionist, or lifestyle coach. None of these professionals will advise fasting unless you have to get your blood drawn for certain tests. The “enlightenment” you may receive through fasting is really based on your brain cells dying and you hallucinating. Our bodies NEED nutrients and nutrition to survive. We need energy. So while someone suffering from anorexia may emphasize the need not to eat to get smaller, they inevitably lose not just body fat, but muscles and vital organ tissue, slowly killing themselves. So fasting = not a very clever idea. Cleansing = smart to do every 6 -12 months.

Some people like to cleanse following the end of a particular season, as a way to clear the body of all of Summer‘s toxic energy. It’s truly up to you. The most popular time to cleanse is always following a major holiday involving far too much alcohol and sweets, and not enough physical exertion. The organic fresh juice system of cleansing is always a good way to go. Keep in mind that some bodies will not respond well to certain juices and take note which ones may upset your system and avoid accordingly. As you start to only drink juiced fresh fruits and veggies, your body WILL react. You will feel more hungry, tired, moody and have to go to the bathroom several times. You are drinking liquid! Everything comes out quickly. But after the first few days it will feel better. Your toxins are coming out of you and you are also having withdrawals from sugar and fats you probably eat regularly. Don’t worry, your negative emotions are expected. Then comes the feeling of refreshment.

After the first few days of what may feel like hell, your body has let go of all that crap that once filled every internal organ and now it just is filled with nutrients, nutrients, nutrients! How lucky for you! You will probably start feeling more energy, and slowly this is where you can start adding real food back in. A handful of organic raw almonds, or a sliced avocado can be helpful additions to the cleansing process.

Ending the cleanse is just as important as the cleansing itself. You want to make CERTAIN you don’t immediately jump into the throes of the processed world. Try to allow your body the real whole fruits, vegetables, meats and grains it NEEDS. Key word here is “needs”. Try to carry on the health associated with cleansing and stick with eating lots of vegetables and fruits, and meats and grains in between. Avoid processed foods, conventionally grown produce, grain-fed beef, GMO– corn, soy and wheat. Stick with grass-fed, wild-caught/sustainable, local, organic, and harmonious foods. These will allow whatever weight you may have lost during your cleanse to actually stay off and keep that positive energy you felt during your cleanse going.

This healthy lifestyle only leads to a better, positive and happy well-being and life.

Here are a few cleansing instructions and recipes that really prove to be helpful for those of you wanting to juice:

Real Simple Cleanse

Dr. Oz

About.com