Who's controlling who?

Does believing we have a choice hinder us instead of help us?       

This was the question I posed to the E.A.T! alumni group last night after asking them if they had ever considered putting certain trigger foods on a DO NOT EAT list. 

This is a complicated discussion for me because I work my butt off to teach choice, moderation, boundaries and how to have a healthy relationship with food.  This post is meant to provoke thought in my clients and readers to look at another strategy that may help them manage the unhealthy relationship they have with some foods. 

There are certain foods that I can't lie to myself about anymore.  I can no longer believe I can choose to control how much I will eat of these trigger foods.  I know if I choose to make cookies for my kids that there is a very strong (who am I kidding, its pretty much absolute) possibility I am going to get into the dough.  I have to make a very conscious effort and use my will power not to have just one nibble.... because a nibble is all it takes.

I KNOW a nibble of our trigger foods can NEVER be just a nibble.. a nibble leads to a hard take down and us wondering how and why we lost total control. 

Perhaps believing we have control is actually where the battle is lost. 

Some foods I can have a few and not go back for more but others are in a category all to themselves.  Many a time I have stood with my hand in a box of breakfast cereal (and I am talking Go Lean cereal... yes, even healthy foods can be triggers!) convincing myself that I hadn't really had that much, only to realize that I had emptied half the box.  Double Bubble gumballs are another for me... the stories are legendary in the studio and I am very real about my own wrestling matches with maintaining a healthy balance with all types of food.  Sugar is a very real struggle for me and a battle I fight daily.

Trigger foods are foods that if I start eating I have a hard time stopping or going back for more and more and more.  I DO NOT HAVE CONTROL OVER MY TRIGGER FOODS!  They control me. 

So do I have a choice?? 

Absolutely, but my choice may surprise you.
My choice is to abstain from eating my trigger foods.  My own personal game plan.  My own personal DO NOT EAT list.  Not a bite not a nibble.

This is a strong boundary to put in place but by doing so I take back my power and give myself a choice.  The choice is to NOT eat my trigger foods. I have accepted and surrendered to the truth that I lose control when I eat them.   

1. Gumballs

2. Icing

3. Cookie Dough (or any baking dough for that matter)

4. Cereal (healthy or not)

Not a long list and it must look pretty silly but this is who I am.  These are the foods that get me.  As much as I love healthy food, a healthy body and a healthy lifestyle and live to spread this message to others, I am also human.  I have my own struggles and my own cravings.  I get it.  I strive to do better everyday and live what I teach.  Perfectly imperfect.  


My challenge to the alumni group and to you, is to write down your own list of trigger foods and acknowledge and accept their existence.  This is no different than writing down and looking at your financial debt.  How do you know where to start if you don't know what you are dealing with?  Again, these are the foods that you know you won't stop at one or will spend hours thinking and obsessing about after a morsel has passed your lips. 

I am  not suggesting that you remove all the foods you list but perhaps its time to look at the ones that really have control over you and slide them onto an abstinence list, even if it is a temporary one.  It may be the key to your success! 

On a side note:  If spinach seems to be controlling you... well, that's OK in my book!

Leave a comment, your thoughts or any mad ramblings you may have on the subject.  I would love to hear about the strategies that you use to help you help yourself!

-L


Here are the recipes from last nights E.A.T!  alumni group.  It was potluck night and these were the top two!

POOR MAN’S STEAK

Makes 6 servings

Ingredients:

2 Eggplants, (1.5 lbs total), ends trimmed, cut crosswise into ¾ inch-thick slices
2 Tsp salt
1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
½ Tsp dried oregano
1 small clove garlic, minced
Freshly ground pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Sprinkle eggplant with salt and drain in colander for 30 minutes after cutting
2. Preheat over to 450 F. Lightly coat 2 baking sheets with non stick cooking spray

3. Rinse the eggplant under cold water and pat dry. Arrange in a single layer on the prepared baking sheets. Bake for 20 minutes, turn the eggplant over and bake for 5 minutes longer, or until golden brown and tender.

4. Stir together oil, vinegar and garlic in a small bowl. Season the eggplant with pepper and brush tops with the oil mixture. Serve at room temperature.

Tips and Notes:

If you make ahead it can be covered and refrigerated for up to 8 hours. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Change the oil and change the flavor. Try using flax oil.

Also, don’t be afraid to use less oil and make this recipe even leaner!

Per serving:

52 calories; 3 g fat ( 0 g sat , 2 g mono ); 0 mg cholesterol; 7 g carbohydrates; 1 g protein; 4 g fiber; 779 mg sodium; 271 mg potassium.

modified from eatingwell.com

Clean Eating Spicy Orange Cinnamon Shrimp

Thank you to thegraciouspantry.com for providing a great resource of healthy, clean recipes so please hop over and enjoy her site! 

Lost and found

When was the last time you touched your spirit? 

I touched mine last week on a short holiday to Palm Springs and it had been so long I almost didn't recognize what I was feeling.   For those of you new to BUC or to this blog let me give you a short update on who I am and my nutty life.

I am the very proud mother to 3 boys age 12, 10 and on June 17th my baby will turn 1.  That's right, I said one.  Quite the spread in age and I could devote an entire post to what it has been like to parent a new baby after such a long break.  I will keep this part of my story short and just say that it has been an amazing ride that I wouldn't trade for all the sleep in the world (new parents will understand the enormity of this statement).

My second family is BUC and all the moving pieces that keep the business running.  I work with a steady stream of clients on both fitness and nutrition along with all the behind the scene activities that aren't always so glamorous.  To say the last 2 to 3 years have been a whirlwind is an understatement.  Organized chaos (I say organized but really this is just my way of saying I was trying to keep control over uncontrollable events) is a better description.

Opening a larger studio and becoming pregnant with Jake was the start of the journey of losing myself.

I continued working until June 6 and June 17th and I was holding my beautiful new baby boy in my arms surrounded by my family and feeling pretty much on top of the world.  Fast forward to July 13th and I was back at work teaching lunch and learn sessions out in Burnaby and taking on clients again (much to Tia's dismay...).  I am sitting here looking at last years day timer just shaking my head in awe.  Even though I was working a modified week I was still working... and breast feeding AND not sleeping.  In fact I remember driving home from seeing my Burnaby client hooked up the the electric breast pump while operating a stick shift.  It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize the absurdity of this.  I am pretty sure if talking and texting are illegal while driving that my effort to multitask corporate Lisa and mommy Lisa was a sure ticket to a suspended licence had I been pulled over.  I have often wondered how that would have been written up in the local papers if I had indeed crashed.  If this doesn't speak to my level of insanity during this time nothing will. 

The truth of the matter is I didn't skip a beat and what I perceived as strength of character is really one of my largest personality flaws.  I have been gripping onto my personal life and my professional life by my finger nails terrified that if I let go that all the pieces of my life would come crashing to the ground.  I had gone from a confident, self assured, independent woman to a frazzled, over mommied, over worked crazy woman.  Needless to say much has changed in my life in the past 3 months including reaching the end of breast feeding, a new outlook on business and personal relationships and a journey into personal self growth and discovery.

Then the opportunity to sneak away to Palm Springs for 3 nights to celebrate closing out my 30's came up and I took it.  I managed to get Jake weaned, all his meals prepped and ready in the freezer, groceries bought and put away and a list of instructions of who gets what, when posted on the fridge (I will dive into my control issues at a later date) and off I went.  I was excited to get away and have a chance to detox from life and business along with reconnecting with friends that hold years of history.  It was a great trip with extreme heat (and to answer your question there is NO SUCH THING AS TOO HOT when it comes to me), a convertible, a spa day and even a few glasses of wine and chocolate had by the pool.  Honestly it was bliss.

Then I came home and it hit me.

This week has been an emotional downer for me.  First I thought it was just the gray skies (seriously, it is June!), then I chalked some of it up to lack of exercise (yes, I do take time away from the gym) and low Omega 3 consumption (make sure you check out my post on happy fats).  Well I couldn't do much about the weather but I did get off my butt and got moving again in the gym and healthy, balanced nutrition is a no brainer for me so why have I still been so glum??

Then I had my light bulb moment. 

I had touched my spirit again.

In Palm Springs racing down the highway with the top down, the sun setting and the warm air dancing around me like a warm cosmic hug, I had felt ME again.  That warm fuzzy feeling that tells us we are not just alive but that we are LIVING.  The feeling that your heart is going to tear open your chest because it feels so large, the lump in your throat because of the emotion that is rising up from the depth of your gut, the smile on your face that you couldn't wipe off if you tried.  My spirit.  It is alive and well and I had found it. 

The sadness is in realizing that I had found that which I didn't even realize I had lost and this story is not unique to me.  When we choose the role of "mom" we give our bodies over first, then we continue to give our heart and spirit.  I had gone from an independent woman to having Jake dependant on me for life... to help his little body form and grow and then for nourishment.   I wouldn't have changed a thing but after almost 22 months its time to reclaim ME and find how to nurture my own spirit as much as I nurture and care for my family. 

I touched something magical in Palm Springs and I want it back.  Stay tuned for my upcoming adventures....

So I put this question out to all of my fellow mom's.  When was the last time you touched your spirit?  Do you even remember what it feels like to be you??
What can you do and what do you NEED to do to find your way back to you??

I can proudly say that I was a part of the puzzle for some of the friends I travelled with.  You can't ROCK a bikini if you aren't feeling good in your skin and it was amazing to see the ones I had the honor of teaching the E.A.T! programs, looking and feeling great.   40 is looking great on this group of women.

Good nutrition and feeling good in my skin is part of my daily self care but for most women (and I will say specifically mom's for this post) loving the body you are in is a distant memory.  You can think back to how you looked and felt in your late teens to mid 20's and wonder why you ever complained about the body you would kill for now.

The E.A.T! program is kicking off registration for September classes.  You can find your way back to YOU, love your body and celebrate your spirit again.

Don't miss the journey that will change your life and ignite your spirit!


STARTS: September 5, 2012

TIME: 6:00 PM to 7:30PM

Please note ALL class dates (this is a 10 session series)

September 5, 12, 19 & 26 October 3, 10, 17 & 24 November 7 & 14

CLASS INCLUDES WEEKLY WEIGHT AND MEASUREMENTS. DAILY FOOD LOG REVIEW AND UNLIMITED QUESTIONS VIA EMAIL. ACCOUNTABILTIY IS BUILT INTO THIS CLASS.

COST: 2 payments of $299.50 plus HST
1st payment is due at time of registration, final payment is due Sept 5th

EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION SAVE $100 IF CLASS IS FULLY PAID BY JULY 15TH!!

Includes course binder, handouts and a free bottle of Barlean’s Fish Oil ($40 value)

All E.A.T! programs come with a 100% money back guarantee

WHERE: #2135-12191 Hammersmith Way, Richmond BC V7A 5H2


Contact me for more details or join my mailing list  for all studio and E.A.T! updates!

-L