It's About Your Health

When it comes to weight loss and your health, you have been lied to, misinformed and cheated!

Unfortunately, there is a lot of misleading information about weight loss. If you have ever been on a diet you already know that it is one thing to lose weight and another to keep it off. In fact, 95% of people gain back their weight and then some more!

In this breakthrough program, nutritionist and former Olympic Athlete, Michelle Baumgartner reveals the missing ingredient to losing weight quickly and easily - your brain! Once you understand the role your mind plays in weight loss and how to use it effectively, you’lllose weight easily and quickly!

Discover:

• How to eat, think & exercise for your unique body type & lose weight fast!

• Overcome emotional eating & self-sabotage with powerful tools for positive thinking & self-confidence!

• How world class athletes stay motivated to win & you can too!

• Stop yo yo dieting: The secrets of staying lean & healthy for life!

• Food charts, recipes, exercise programs, and everything you need to get started and stay on track!

ARE YOU READY TO SAY HELLO TO THE NEW YOU?ARE YOU READY TO LOSE WEIGHT QUICKLY AND KEEP IT OFF?
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GIVE ME 8 WEEKS AND I WILL TRANSFORM YOUR BODY FOR LIFE!

Buy it on Amazon

Michelle's Website

My Review:

There's a wealth of information in this book. It's pretty smooth reading, not like you're reading a textbook, which I always appreciate. I learned some new things (which honestly is amazing as my degree is in exercise science and I worked in the fitness industry for ten years). I did feel like the nutrition aspect was a bit more extreme than I am willing to be, but I really enjoyed the positive thinking aspects of the book. 

Ready for those resolutions

I think I'm almost ready to stop the chocolate party. Almost! But I decided I'm getting too old to go on some strict diet (plus, diets never last for me) so I'm just going to be smart and exercise some self-control, but not make myself crazy. My poor family just doesn't deserve a chocolate-free Momma, it's not fun for any of us!

Most of my resolutions this year are focused on being more patient, more charitable, and less of a shellfish (sorry, if you're not a Junie B. Jones fan that won't make much sense).

What about you? I love hearing about resolutions, it gets me motivated to set more myself!
Have a wonderful New Year!

Hugs,
Cami

Who to Trust?

Weight Watchers, Atkins, South Beach Diet, Body For Life, Biggest Loser Workout, The Firm, PX90. There are more weight loss plans and exercise program options than calories in my bowl of Snelgroves. How do you know which one is right for you?
We each have a different body type, metabolism, and genetic background. Jenny Craig might have saved your neighbor, but it may not work for your body, lifestyle, or emotional health. You need to evaluate what your health needs are and how you can most effectively meet those needs without wreaking havoc on the other aspects of your life.

I love chocolate. If I try to go on a diet plan that cuts out all treats I get irritable. It's not worth it for me or my family to have me lose a couple of pounds and be no fun to live with.

I don't advocate "dieting." I've seen many friends and family go on diets and lose weight then gain it back. Because of that I would be careful when signing up for a specific diet program, especially one that costs a lot of money and/or promises quick weight loss. If you do feel one of the diet plans is what you need to stay on track, do your research. Talk to friends and family who have used the program. See what kind of research is behind the program. Discover what real people's results were (not the ads the company produces) and find out if participants were able to stick with the program long term to stay healthy instead of just a quick weight loss which is not only a waste of time (and money) but can be harmful.

The best dietary programs are going to focus on healthy, whole foods. I would discourage spending a bunch of money on the program's food. Not only can it be very expensive, but nobody is going to do that for life.

I would encourage you to talk to a registered dietitian before signing up for any program. A dietitian could also help you write a plan and counsel you on sticking with it, helping you avoid shelling out money for a diet that may be a scam or harmful to your health.

What about exercise?

Again, every person's body is different. I have a good friend who teaches Pilates and looks fabulous. My sister-in-law is a cardio girl (bike, swim, run, crawl, you name it) and she also has an amazing shape. I love strength training and focus most of my time in the weight room and running.

Variety is the key. It's easy to get stuck in a rut, I do it myself. Varying speed, intensity, and duration can help. It's also wonderful to try new things out, though not always practical.

But what if you want to do a certain exercise program like Crossfit or PX90?
Research. Check out the qualifications, experience, and success rate of the program designers. See if they have research to back up what they're selling (I like to see a few different research studies because sometimes the study is small or paid for by the group it benefits). Talk to people who have used the program or trainer.

Try it out. Make sure you like it before you invest too much time or money into something. Most local gyms/exercise programs should have a trial period so you can see if you enjoy the exercise and the group. Exercise machines should have a money back guarantee (within a certain time frame). You're sampling the program to see if you like it, but you shouldn't expect immediate weight loss or shredded biceps. Becoming fit takes time. Give the program at least six to eight weeks. You can tell if the program is going to be effective by how you're feeling. You should be tired by the end of a workout and slightly sore the next morning, but you shouldn't have pain in your joints or a feeling of tearing a muscle or ligament.

It's extremely hard to wade through all the different options for diet and exercise programs. It really comes down to trusting your own instincts. Don't buy into quick weight loss schemes, they may work initially but will always let you down long term. Also, as a Christian I turn to the Lord when I'm making a decision. He cares about you in every aspect of your life. He doesn't want you wasting time, money, or becoming irritable.

Your health is important. Make sure your decisions regarding your health are not taken lightly.

What to do?

Weight Watchers, Atkins, South Beach Diet, Body For Life, Biggest Loser Workout, The Firm, PX90. There are more weight loss plans and exercise program options than calories in my bowl of Snelgroves. How do you know which one is right for you?
We each have a different body type, metabolism, and genetic background. Jenny Craig might have saved your neighbor, but it might not work for your body, lifestyle, or emotional health. You need to evaluate what your health needs are and how you can most effectively meet those needs without wreaking havoc on the other aspects of your life.

I love chocolate. If I try to go on a diet plan that cuts out all treats I get irritable. It's not worth it for me or my family to have me lose a couple of pounds and be no fun to live with.

I've told you before that I don't love "dieting." I've seen many friends and family go on diets and lose weight then gain it back. Because of that I would be careful when signing up for a specific dieting program, especially one that costs a lot of money and/or promises quick weight loss. If you do feel one of the diet plans is what you need to stay on track, do your research. Talk to friends and family who have used the program. See what kind of research is behind the program. See if you can find out the honest results and if participants were able to stick with the program long term to stay healthy instead of just a quick weight loss which is not only a waste of time but can be harmful.

The best dietary programs are going to focus on healthy, whole foods. I would discourage spending a bunch of money on the program's food. Not only can it be very expensive, but nobody is going to do that for life.

I would encourage you to talk to a registered dietitian before signing up for any program. A dietitian could also help you write a plan and counsel you on sticking with it, helping you avoid shelling out money for a diet that may be a scam or harmful to your health.

What about exercise?

Again, every person's body is different. I have a good friend who teaches Pilates and looks fabulous. My sister-in-law is a cardio girl (bike, swim, run, crawl, you name it) and she also has an amazing shape. I love strength training and focus most of my time in the weight room and running.

Variety will improve effectiveness and help you stick with exercise. It's easy to get stuck in a rut, I do it myself. Varying speed, intensity, and duration can help. It's also wonderful to try new things out, though not always practical.

But what if I want to do a certain exercise program like Crossfit or PX90?

Research. Check out the qualifications, experience, and success rate of the program designers. See if they have research to back up what they're selling (I like to see a few different research studies because sometimes the study is small or paid for by the group it benefits). Talk to people who have used the program or trainer.

Try it out. Make sure you like it before you invest too much time or money into something. Most local gyms/exercise programs should have a trial period so you can see if you enjoy the exercise and the group. DVDs or exercise machines usually have a money back guarantee within a certain time frame. You're trying it out to see if you like it, but you shouldn't expect immediate weight loss or shredded biceps.

Becoming fit takes time. Give the program at least six to eight weeks. You can tell if the program is going to be effective by how you're feeling. You should be tired by the end of a workout and slightly sore the next morning, but you shouldn't have pain in your joints or a feeling of tearing a muscle or ligament.

It's extremely hard to wade through all the different options for diet and exercise programs. It really comes down to trusting your own instincts. Don't buy into quick weight loss schemes, they may work initially but will always let you down long term. Also, as a Christian I turn to the Lord when I'm making a decision. He cares about you in every aspect of your life. He doesn't want you wasting time, money, or becoming irritable (justification for my chocolate obsession).

Your health is important. Make sure your decisions regarding your health are not taken lightly.

Diets

Have you ever been on a diet?
I constantly preach against fad diets, but I'm as guilty of anyone of "going on a diet" when I need to lose a few pounds. The sad thing about diets (besides how miserable they are) is that 95% of people put the weight they lose back on. Not great odds. It's just too hard to maintain a diet and it also messes with your metabolism. Best just to stick with good old healthy eating and effective exercise to stay at a good weight for life.
How about you? What's the craziest diet you've been on? When you've lost weight dieting have you kept it off?

Sugar = Poison?

The past couple of days I've consumed an entire piece of The Cheescake Factory's Black-out Cake. If you've ever seen one of these slices, you'll understand why I'm disgusted with myself. They're bigger than a dinner plate and richer than Ghirardelli chocolate. Yesterday I seriously could not move out of my chair. I was so weak and sick it terrified me. I started wondering if it was the sugar overdose. I did some research online and found everything from cautions to too much sugar during pregnancy because of gestational diabetes to an article that basically equated the effect of sugar on a fetus to be as awful as alcohol, cigarettes, or caffeine.

Oh, the guilt!

The hard thing is there isn't a lot of solid research out there, but I guess I understand that. None of us would want to be the guinea pig to see what hurt our baby or not.

So I've decided to be careful about excess sugar for the next few weeks and see if I feel better. I'm not giving up jam on my toast but I did hide the rest of the Black-out Cake in the outside freezer!

Any advice? Have any of you noticed an adverse effect from sugar on you or your children? I definitely feel gross if I eat too much and I think my children get whinier, but I've really never equated sugar with poison as some of the articles I read suggested.

I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks,

Cami

Can fat hinder your strength?

Does your diet really affect your workout?

"Canadian researchers found that when you regularly eat high-fat foods, the excess fat is stored within the muscles, slowing their fat-burning ability." (i)

"It's like carrying a backpack with 33% of your weight in it, but your muscles can't compensate for the extra work," Thomas Hawke, PhD, associate professor at McMaster University

So basically the more fat you consume the more you hinder your ability to burn that fat, even if you're exercising vigorously. Makes you think before gobbling that next Big Mac.

(i) "Wake Up Your Workout" Prevention, February 2010

Loving You More

Do you love yourself more than that slice of Firehouse's chicken barbecue pizza? More than that slice of Granny's apple pie? More than that bowl of Dreyer's cookie dough ice cream with homemade hot fudge?

Yesterday I decided I loved Great Harvest's pumpkin chocolate chip bread more than I loved myself and ate two slices. I've been nauseated ever since.

This saying is going to be another weapon in my arsenal of "how to trick myself into making healthy choices." I'm going to simply think, "I love myself more than I love ______" You can enter your own vices - you know mine will be some form of chocolate.

Any advice that helps you stay strong?

Satiate Your Cravings

It's always hard when I'm trying to eat healthy to find foods that satiate my cravings. I assumed it was because I cut so much fat out of my diet, but a new article says differently, "It used to be thought that fat contributed to maintaining a feeling of fullness. But now fiber and protein have been shown to be the two key factors. The combination of protein and fiber slows your digestion and is thought to extend the release of hormones that trigger the "I'm full" response in the brain." (i)

Most of us get enough protein, but fiber is harder. Here are some articles about fiber benefits and the foods with the highest fiber content:

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art49482.asp

http://www.healthcastle.com/high-fiber-foods.shtml

http://www.changingshape.com/resources/articles/high-fiber-diet.asp

http://www.aolhealth.com/diet/basics/fiber-foods

http://pediatrics.about.com/od/nutrition/a/0806_high_fiber.htm

http://www.wheatfoods.org/AboutWheat-list-of-high-fiber-foods/Index.htm

My favorites on the list? Black beans, bran cereal, popcorn, peas, apples, pears, berries, and oats. I throw oats or grind wheat to put in all of our pancakes, breads, waffles, etc. My boys hate it! Someday they'll thank me, right?

When I'm really craving a treat and want to be good I pop some popcorn, spray Can't Believe It's Not Butter on it and guzzle Crystal Light or I'll mix fruit, yogurt, and cottage cheese to get a low-fat treat that is almost as good as ice cream (nothing compares to ice cream for me!).

What's your favorite way to sneak in more fiber?

How do you satiate yourself when you're craving a treat?

(i) "Feeling Satiated Longer" by Megan Porter, RD - http://www.caloriesperhour.com/news_070815.php

Lose Weight for Life

Stockton split his ear in two last night. It was so sad. Stitches and Momma up holding him all night. This morning he peed in one of my heater vents. I guess he was sick of all the positive attention!

Today, I'm posting an article about the best weight loss secret around.

97% of dieters gain back their weight within five years. (i) Obviously Atkins, The South Beach Diet, the cabbage diet, etc. are not lifelong solutions to maintaining a healthy weight. There is a better way. A magic formula that I like to call - Strength Training.

Doesn't that just sound miraculous? Too many women are afraid of weights. I’ve heard numerous excuses, but the most frequent are: I don’t know how to lift weights and I don’t want to bulk up. The fact of the matter is: Most women couldn’t bulk up even if they wanted to (we lack the testosterone levels) and if you are one of those rare women who does bulk up: watch your calorie intake and don’t do max-outs or lift heavy weights and then drop them and you’ll be fine.

The excuse that you don’t know how to lift weights is valid, but easily fixed. Buy a book on weight-lifting, look online for advice, hire a personal trainer or follow my blog and save yourself the cash!



Lifting weights increases your metabolism more than anything else you can do. If you diet you will probably lose weight, but then your metabolism will drop because there's less of you to maintain. Then you must keep decreasing food intake to maintain your new weight. It's a vicious, unhappy circle. Not that you shouldn't eat right to lose weight, but if you diet alone it will be really hard to keep losing/maintain.



Cardiovascular exercise is a great thing, but it will also make you more efficient and decrease your metabolism slightly because all your body systems are working better. So, you can lose weight with cardio, but then you will probably plateau and have to increase the duration/intensity of your cardio to keep losing. This is why you see women who walk or do aerobics for years and never reach their ideal weight. Just like diet, cardio is an important factor in losing weight, but done alone it is a tough way to lose weight.

Which brings us to my favorite solution - weight lifting. As you lift you increase your muscle size and density and voila - your metabolism increases because muscle is hard to maintain. So then you're burning calories even when you're sitting. The keys are to lift regularly (at least twice a week), lift slowly (especially on the lengthening or eccentric phase of the lift) and lift heavy enough weights (8-20 pound dumbbells).

One warning - you will probably gain weight as you start lifting. You're increasing the muscle mass and density, but it takes longer to start burning off the fat. Please give it at least three months. 


Also, you have to eat small, healthy meals (lots of veggies, fruit, high-fiber carbs, lean meats, and low-fat dairy) and do cardio (preferably intervals, the best cardio around for burning fat). If you incorporate all three aspects and stick with it, you'll see results.

Please let me know if you have any questions about strength training?

Hope you all have a great day,

Cami

(i) Obesity and Weight Loss Maintaining a Healthy Weight by Dr. Deborah Wilson - http://www.goveg.com/obesity.asp

Diet vs. Exercise

       As a lover of exercise, I would like to tell you that the only requirement to being healthy and fit is a regular workout regime. Unfortunately, I’d be lying to you. Without a healthy diet becoming and staying fit will be extremely difficult. Many people try to maintain or lose weight through diet or exercise alone. But you need both, especially if you’re over thirty and the metabolism has started to slow naturally (Darn this aging business).

      

As a teenager I used to eat nachos and ice cream daily. As a twenty-year old I would crush up Oreos and pour milk over them for breakfast. Now as a thirty-something (not admitting how many somethings) I’ve finally convinced my self-indulgent tongue that I have to eat healthy 95% of the time. I still have the occasional bowl of ice cream, but now it’s in a lovely (and tiny) crystal dessert bowl instead of a Cool Whip container. Don’t think that the beauty of my dessert bowl eases the sting of not eating enough of my favorite treat, but I have found that I can be satisfied with the smaller portion if I savor each teeny bite.

 

To lose weight and keep it off for life you need a combination of cardiovascular exercise, strength training, and a healthy diet that you can live with. I recommend that my clients eat 5-6 small meals or snacks per day, drink lots of water and limit themselves to one treat, something they can thoroughly enjoy and will keep them from craving more or being irritable (I don’t know about you, but denying myself chocolate for life would require my husband to live in his garage).

 

On my website, under the links page, there is a file called, “Cami’s Eating Chart.” It is a spreadsheet with suggested meal and snack times and a spot to record water consumption and exercise time. It’s a fabulous idea to write down what you eat. Keeping a food diary can double a person’s weight loss according to a study from Kaiser Permanente’s Center for Health Research. (i)

 

Many women tell me that they have a hard time eating 5-6 times a day. The reason I encourage this is it keeps food portions small. If you know you’re eating again in two to three hours, you won’t be so tempted to polish off that sandwich (I have to remind myself that it’s okay to throw food away). Also, eating often keeps your blood sugar or glucose levels even. If your blood glucose dips too low because you’re not eating enough or you’re allowing too much time between meals, you will become irritable, tired, your metabolism will dip (not something we want if we’re trying to lose weight) and if you go too long your body will start deriving its energy from protein, keeping the protein from its intended use – building our muscles and increasing our metabolism. If your blood glucose rises too high because you ate too much, the excess will be stored (usually as fat). Which leads us back to our healthy, small meals and keeping blood sugar at a normal level.

 

Another important factor is what you are eating. Make sure your diet is full of lots of veggies, fruits, lean protein, low-fat dairy, and high-fiber carbs and you’ll be doing well. Here’s a list of healthy snacks to get you started.

 

Popcorn (air-popped or 94% fat free)

Glass of skim milk

Cottage cheese

Raw veggies – carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, peppers, cucumbers, etc.

Boiled egg

Serving of fruit - banana, apple, orange, pear, strawberries, grapes, etc.

Rice cakes

Nuts or sunflower seeds and raisins

Small bowl of high-fiber cold cereal

Peanut butter on celery sticks

Fruit smoothie - Mix your favorite fruit with fat-free yogurt, skim milk, vanilla flavoring, and ice

Yogurt Parfait – low-fat yogurt, low-fat cottage cheese, fruit, and granola

Almonds and Raisins

Apple and Peanut Butter

Chicken and Spinach Salad

Cottage Cheese and Fruit

Frozen Yogurt

Guacamole and Veggies

Ham and Cheese Slices

Hummus on Lettuce Leaves

High fiber toast with peanut butter and jelly

Oatmeal

Open-Faced Roast Beef or Turkey Sandwich

Peanut Butter and Banana

Peanuts and Yogurt

Pudding Cup

Rice Cake with Peanut Butter

Slim•Fast Low Carb Snack Bar

Strawberries and String Cheese

Tortilla Chips and Salsa

Trail Mix

Wheat Crackers and Cheese

Low-fat granola bar

 

Make the choice today to incorporate healthy eating and a regular exercise program into your busy life. You not only reap the rewards of losing/maintaining weight, you will also prevent a multitude of diseases, be full of energy, and feel great!

 

Cami Checketts is a wife, mother, exercise scientist, and author. Her latest book, The Sister Pact, will be available July 2009.

 

 

(i) Keeping a Food Diary Doubles Diet Weight Loss - http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/542031

 

 

Book Spotlight - Guided by Him To a Thinner, Not So Stressed-Out You!

I'm so excited to spotlight my friend, Julie Morris's book, Guided by Him To a Thinner, Not So Stressed-Out You! It is a fabulous book with a wonderful message. I'd try to tell you about it, but I'd just mess it up so I included an interview with Julie and her daughter Sarah. 

Thanks for reading - Cami

Author Julie Morris, R.N., and her daughter, Sarah Morris Cherry, L.P.C., have developed a way to Lose weight the lighthearted way!

Guided By Him is a 12-week Bible study/weight-loss program that is perfect for individual study, lunch breaks at work, friendly neighborhood get-togethers or small groups at church.

Filled with uplifting scriptures, thought-provoking questions, daily devotionals and fun-filled food facts, it helps readers keep a positive, light attitude toward learning a leaner lifestyle.

 

Available now! $14.99

Order at www.guidedbyhim.com

1.    It seems like everyone is endorsing, writing or followingsome kind of diet plan these days. What prompted you to write Guided By Him, when there are already so many programs out there?

 

Julie I wanted to share a fun and easy way to lose weight—especially designed for busy people who overeat when they feel stressed out.  I know personally that this program works. It helps overwhelmed overeaters lose the weight… and worries… that weigh them down. Guided By Him (GBH) is encouraging,inspiring and can be done in just a few minutes a day!

 

Sarah For the past several years I have been so busy that it’s been hard to find time to read. But when I started reading Barbara Johnson’s Stick a Geranium in Your Hat and BeHappy, I didn’t want to put it down. I realized then that a lighthearted approachkeeps us reading and helps us to do things that we might not feel up to doing if it were presented in a heavier way. GBH is a lighthearted approach to learning a leaner lifestyle!

 

2.    You offer many practical tips, called Stepping Stones, toencourage participants to make intentional choices regarding food. Share a few of these with us.

 

Sarah We teach you how to spend 10 minutes having a daily Quiet Time that will literally change your life. In those few short minutes you will learn how to draw closer to Jesus, recognize things that are driving you to the refrigerator that day, and surrender them to Him. We also teach you how to use a Prayer Journal so you will learn to cast your cares on the Lord, not the refrigerator, and Food Cards that will help you to eat in a well-balanced way without having to count calories. Other Stepping Stones providepractical ideasthat help you to lose weight. Here are some simple weight-loss tips:

• A good way to decide how much a serving of meat is: look at a deck of cards.
• Never eat while standing. 
• Make eating a meal a relaxing event (I’m finding that’s really hard with a toddler!).
• Brush your teeth frequently.  It helps you reduce snacking.
• As much as possible, stay away from foods that trigger your cravings (mine is peanut butter).
• Chew gum or wear a mask if you’re tempted to nibble while you’re cooking.

 

Julie Two other important Stepping Stones teach you how to feed your soul on M and M’s. The best kind of M & M’s are Meditation and Memorization of Scripture! We also show you how to make a Victory List so you see if you’re staying on track with your eating and other healthy lifestyle changes. And we show you how to make a Miracle List. A Miracle List is a list of your problems that only God can solve. As you pray over your Miracle List every morning, you remember that these things are God’s job so you quitstruggling to fixthem. When you start putting your energy into changing the things you can, and leaving the rest for God, you will find that you don’t get nearly as frustrated—or as tempted to overeat.

 

3.    You’re a mother/daughter duo. You both bring years ofexperience to the writing table. How did your careers help you in the writing process of Guided By Him?

 

Julie I am a wife, mother and new grandmother. I have been a secretary at the Pentagon, Spanish teacher, lay counselor, and RN. But the experience that helped me most in writing GBH was doing things WRONG for so many years, and then watching amazed as God helped me to change. I lost my extra pounds over 25 years ago and have kept them off. And God has changed my misery to ministry. I’ve been writing, speaking across the country and leading weight-loss groups since 1992. I'd love to come to your church to speak and meet you personally. You can learn more about my speaking and hear a brief sample at www.findjulie.com.

 

Sarah I am a wife, new mother and Licensed Professional Counselor. I have counseled people from two to 92. I have worked a lot with overweight people who desperately need to lose weight, but are overwhelmed at the thought of doing it. I love teaching them new ways to deal with stress, facts about healthy living and easy things they can do to help them become more like the people theywant tobe.

 

4.    When tempted to cheat on your healthy habits, what snack doyou each reach for?

 

Julie I don’t really have to cheat because anything goes in our GBH plan. I don’t think that an occasional splurge is unhealthy; it’s just when it gets us off track—and the occasional splurge turns into a frequent one or a binge—that we get in trouble. But that didn’t really answer your question.  A hot bagel at Sam’s is fullof carbs and calories, but I eat one every now and then anyway. I just count it as four breads and cut back on otherbread servings that day.

 

Sarah When I’m snacking, I try to balance carbs and proteins so my body stays balanced.  And I drink a lot of water with lemon or lime slices. 

 

5.    How do you reward yourself for achieving yourgoals?

 

Julie This sounds really goofy, but I’ll tell you anyway. Every week, I tell my friend Sue how I have done with my eating, exercising and other goals (like not being grumpy). If I have achieved more than 80% of my goals, she gives me a pretty colored sticker. I love having a sticker on my Victory List each week. And I HATE having to tell Sue that I’ve done badly! But the biggest reward is that I feel so much better when I’m on track with my eating and exercising, and I really feel crummy when I’m not.

 

Sarah  For my rewards, I make extra time for myself to give myself a manicure/pedicure or to watch a favorite TV show.  Sometimes I do “Wal-Mart Therapy” where I buy $10 worth of things that I don’t normally buy at the grocery store (shower gels, an unusual tropical fruit, a new nail polish).

 

6.    For moms out there trying to help their children to loseweight, what advice do you have for them?

 

Julie The best way to help your children to lose weight is to lose weight yourself! It’s never too late to start being a good example. Here are some other things that will help:

 

·        Teach them how to read labels and make healthy choices when they’re eating out and at home. Make a game of finding food“bargains.”

·        Teach them how to have a brief Quiet Time almost every day. If they can’t write yet, help them to draw pictures of their prayers and Bible verses.Help them also to journal their feelings by drawing pictures ofthings that upset them.

·        When having family celebrations, focus on the fun of fellowship instead of food.

·        Teach older children how to cook in a healthy way, but never put kids on a diet or force them to eat something they don’t like. 

1. • Don’t tell them that they can never have sugar or other junk food, but limit it. Supply yummy substitutes instead.
   • If they say that they’re hungry between meals, offer low calorie snacks. Some examples are small packs of raisins, fruits, baby carrots, individual packages of low-fat cheese and yogurt.

·        Give them non-food rewards when they do something good. Don’t reward them by giving them their favorite foods or punish them by taking favoritefoods away. And don’t calm them by giving them food.

·        Never shame them for overeating, gaining weight or making unhealthy choices. Give them lots of hugs and compliments and let them know that you lovethem no matter what.

·        Don’t focus too much on food, diets and weight. Let healthy eating and exercise be a normal part of every day.

 

Sarah  I have a two-year-old so I am finding finding ways to reward him with things other than food.  They include hugs and kisses (of course!) praising him when he obeys and Play-Dough time (his favorite reward right now). I think it is super important to keep kids active, limit TV, computer and game time.  Those things are privileges—notrequirements—for kids.  Other advice to help your child lose weight: exercise and eat in a healthy way as a family.  They will do what you do. (: no pressure!

 

7. Many of your chapter titles are funny, but they say a lot. What are some examples?

 

Julie Two of my favorites are: “Pouting Puts Pounds on!” and “Resentments Are Fattening.” It’s sooo important, if we want to lose weight and keep it off, to learn how to get rid of negative emotions such as self-pity and anger. They stress us out and make us hungrier.

 

Here are some other favorites. I’ll bet you can guess what these chapters are about:

·        “Tootsie Roll Tug-of-War”

·        “Do Broken Cookies Count?”

·        “Is Fudge My Fortress?”

·        “Pick up My What???”

·        “How Can I Get This Mountain off of Me?”

·        “I Have Let Myself Go. Is It Too Late to Getthe Old ME Back?”

  

10 Super Snacks to Super-Size Your Healthy Lifestyle

1.       A sandwich made with low-calorie bread (40 calories a slice), fat-free mayo and low-calorie ham and/or cheese (30 calories a slice) cut up in four pieces and arranged nicely on aplate

2.     A sugar-free Popsicle in the summer or sugar-free hot chocolate in the winter

3.     A smoothie made in a blender with fat-free milk, ice cubes and sugar-free hot chocolate mix (25 calories) or fruit with artificial sweetener

4.     A baked apple—cut up, seasoned with nutmeg and cooked in the microwave for a few minutes, topped with fat-free margarine

5.     A steaming bowl of low-calorie soup or a package of instant oatmeal—cooked in the microwave after adding water

6.     Bruschetta—a whole grain slice of bread or large cracker, topped with a slice of tomato and low-fat cheese on top—microwaved for a few seconds to warm it up and melt the cheese

7.     A 100-calorie bag of lite microwave popcorn

8.     A raw vegetable platter, with a variety of vegetables—cut up in little pieces and arranged nicely on a plate, with a serving of fat-free dressing in the middle. Or several stalks of celery stuffed with fat-free cream cheese—seasoned to taste

9.     A parfait—served in a tall glass filled with 4 ounces of plain yogurt, layered with fruit (no sugar added) and topped with a pinch of Grape Nuts or other high-fiber cereal

10.  Little carrots served with spinach dip—fat-free sour cream, seasoned with dry soup mix and raw chopped spinach (defrosted, if frozen, with all of the water squeezed out of it)