Category: Nutrition Habits

Debbie Hatch  |  Family & F.I.T.

I had a former client come to me this morning and ask, “Can you help me lose 20 pounds? As quickly as possible.”

It’s a cycle with this gentleman, and he’s not unusual. Not at all.  In fact this is something I typically hear.

“Can you help me lose XX pounds?”

“Can you make it as quick as possible?”

Females say, frequently:  “I need help with my butt, thighs, tummy, and under the backs of my arms.”

And, as frequently, Males say:  “Help me lose this gut.”

These things are typical.  Common.

…and fraught with issues.

Can I work with this gentleman on eating better, and exercising?  Yes!!  Will that change his body composition?  Yes!!  Can I promise he’ll lose 20 pounds?  Nope…and that’s not a reasonable goal.

Plus, the truth is, he doesn’t want to lose “weight”, he wants to lose “fat”.  There’s a huge difference!!  If you want to lose weight, throw out the damn bathroom scale!  Presto.  Done.

If you want to lose fat, and change your body, learn to incorporate healthy nutrition and movement habits into your life – for life.

Why in the world would I say that?  

Because I know how little weight has to do with anything.  These two pictures are both of me.  There is 3 (exactly THREE) pounds difference between the two.  Yes, my pose is different BUT look at the difference in my legs.  Look at the leanness of my back and the curve of my waist.  Three pounds.

If I hadn’t taken photos, I would likely have been upset at, “only losing three pounds”.  You know that’s true!  Have you ever been upset for only losing a couple of pounds?  I don’t focus on the weight now – I focus on the changes.  How I look.  How I feel.  How my clothes fit.  How strong and capable I feel.

So, back to this morning.  This client’s cycle is pretty typical too.

• He comes back every year. We work together.  He sees changes and feels great….so he stops.  Everything.  He stops exercising, he stops eating the way he knows his body likes, and he gains the weight back.  He has the all-or-nothing mentality that so many of us fall victim to.  He’s 100% on-plan or 100% off.  There is no in between; no moderation.
• He wants the weight loss to be “as quick as possible”.  Losing 1-2 pounds a week is boring. Being consistent for several weeks but not seeing a loss at the end is disheartening. “Just” losing inches but not seeing the scale move can stop people in their tracks.  But that’s the way it works.

The reality is, this guy doesn’t really want another, “quick fix”.  None of us do!  What we want is to get healthy and maintain a body that not only works well but that we’re comfortable in.

THAT’S a goal we can live with!  For life.

• How much better would it be not to have to crash-diet once a year?
• How much better would it be not to stress out about what we weigh, yet still take care of ourselves?

Yes, it’s possible….

Here’s the secret to that…

Are you ready?…

This is IT…

===>  Do what you can, with what you have, right where you are now!  <===

That sounds so boring.  So mundane.  But it works!  It’s not just something I say. It is something I believe, and something I’ve written about numerous times on this page.  {scroll through the blogs:  here are three of my favorites to get you started Waist or Waste, Do What you Can is not a License to Ignore Personal Responsibility and What are you Putting in your Mouth}

• A nutrition plan (any plan) is only going to work if it’s something you’ll actually do. It will only work for the long-term if it’s something you’ll actually stick with.  Right?

• Exercise will only work if it’s something you’ll actually do. It will only keep you healthy if it’s something you’ll actually stick with.  Right?

There is no one-size-fits-all….not in clothing, not in nutrition, exercise, nor life.                                    We are individuals. What works for your friend may not work for you.

Fresh, organic, minimally processed food is always going to be the best. That’s a great goal, a fantastic goal, to work towards.

BUT…. Sometimes life gets in the way. We got busy. We ran out of time. We forgot. We didn’t feel like it. An emergency popped up.  That stuff happens to every single one of us!

L.I.F.E.

Life is not neat and orderly.  It doesn’t go as we plan.  Life is messy, and disorganized, and crazy sometimes. To be honest, that’s exactly what I love about it!

Do what you can, with what you have, right where you are now.  Make the best choice from the choices available.

For example, it’s ideal if you’ve planned ahead and have eggs, protein waffles, over-night oats, egg white muffins, fruit, nuts, Greek yogurt and other delicious, healthy things in your refrigerator ready to go.

BUT….  If your only option for breakfast is going through the McDonald’s drive through, pick the fruit and yogurt, or an egg (or egg/steak) McMuffin (vs biscuit). Discard the top half of the muffin, and ask if it can be grilled without extra butter. OR keep a protein bar in your purse/desk drawer for the times you’re running late.

It’s nice to have had the time and forethought to make your lunch ahead of time and bring it with you.

BUT….  If you didn’t do that and now the office is going out for lunch, pick something that contains protein and veggies.  Maybe that’s a salad, maybe not.  Choose something that is grilled instead of breaded and deep fried, limit the sauces and dressing you pour on top.

It’s nice to get to the house and make a home-cooked, nutritious, dinner.  It’s ideal if you cut up some veggies, grilled a bowl of chicken, or cooked something in the crock pot on Sunday for the entire week.  Grabbing something vs cooking is definitely more likely to happen.

BUT…. Sometimes we’re tired.  There’s nothing in the cupboard.  We didn’t have time to go grocery shopping.  Cooking up some frozen veggies, instead of fresh, to go with your chicken is absolutely fine.  Have two or three restaurants that are on your way home, pre-programmed into your phone.  Call for take out – again, make the best choice you can.  a salad from Chipotle is going to beat pepperoni pizza for nutrition and satiety.  That’s just an example.  It doesn’t have to be salad and it can be pizza…..

I’m just asking that you think about it.

“What are your choices right now?  What would work?  What is the best choice from those things?” 

The same is true for exercise…..convenience, convenience, convenience!!!   I’ll save that discussion for another day.

Debbie Hatch | Family & F.I.T. 

If we’ve heard it once, we’ve heard it 8 million times.  “Practice makes perfect”.

Here’s the rub.

To get better at anything, even if you have some natural ability, yes, you have to practice.

Perfection, though, is an unattainable illusion.

In fact, practice makes us better, but perfect does not exist.  There are (at least) three ways perfection is keeping us from our goals; be they fat-loss or just about anything else.

WE’RE WAITING FOR THE PERFECT TIME

Have you ever said…

Or, rather, how many times have you said…

• “This is just not a good time, right now.
• I’m super busy at work.
• My husband/wife is gone.
• I’m going to have to take care of the kids.
• We’re having company next week.
• I have that big project due at work.
• Our vacation is already planned.
• The holidays are approaching.
• I’m too tired.
• I’m too busy.
• I don’t have enough money.
• I don’t have the energy to even get started.”

Those things, and many more, may be very true.  We are experts at creating excuses!

Trust me, if I don’t want to do something, I can give you 50 reasons – right off the top of my head – for why I can’t.

They’re all perfectly justified and they allow me to not do anything, but also negate any personal responsibility I might have.

It’s not my fault….

….I have these VERY good reasons right here for why I just can’t.

There is no such thing as a “perfect time”.  Your life is never going to be calm.  Things aren’t going to “settle down”.  Your responsibilities are not going to go away.  I’ve been waiting for years, but that personal chef has not yet appeared in my kitchen, ready to whip up delectable healthy meals for me.  Damn it.

Waiting for the perfect time – because it doesn’t exist – leads to inaction.

We get so discouraged we just decide not to bother.

What can we do about it? 

This is your life.  This moment right here.  This day is your opportunity to take one step down the path you want to travel.

Not tomorrow.  Not next Monday.  Not New Year’s Day.  (Although there are plenty of psychological reasons we do this).

Today.

Here’s how I do it.  I have to be completely, and brutally, honest with myself.  I don’t believe every thought that comes into my head.  I say, both to myself, and others:

“I have a whole bunch of excuses for not doing ‘this’ today, but they are just that.

Excuses.

So I have a choice in this moment.

Either I can accept those excuses, knowing that I am letting myself down, and that I will not feel good about this decision later,

OR

I can decide not to let this excuse keep me back this time.”

That’s it.  That’s all.  Accept or deny the excuse this one time.   And then the next time, and the time after that.  I’m not saying I will never accept the excuses.  I’m human.  So are you.

I’m just saying I am not accepting them today.

WE EXPECT TO BE PERFECT.

Hooray.  You’ve decided to slay one of those excuses that’s been holding you back.  You’re doing this thing!  You’re going for it!

On day 1, you expect to do everything, and to do every bit of it perfectly.

Sorry, honey.  It’s just not going to happen.  Sure, we might be able to pull it off for a week.  Maybe two.  But, then….you crash and burn.

To be perfectly clear, perfectionism is not the same thing as striving to be our best.  It’s not about healthy achievement and growth.  Brene Brown, author, scholar, shame researcher, public speaker extraordinaire, describes it this way. “Perfectionism is a 20-ton shield that we lug around thinking it will protect us when, in fact, it is the thing that’s really preventing us from taking flight.”

I’ve read Jim Collin’s book Good to Great, several times.

Good IS the enemy of great.  It makes us complacent and stagnates growth when we just decide that “good enough” is all we’re after.

But

Perfect is the enemy of good.  It makes us feel over-whelmed.  If we don’t face the reality that we’re not perfect, one small mis-step demoralizes and demotivates us.  This is when one cookie turns into one dozen; when one day off from the gym turns into a month; and when doing your best leaves you feeling like you’re not good enough.

What can we do about it? 

Take the middle ground.

Good is the enemy of great.

Perfect is the enemy of good.

How about striving for great?

It’s right there in the middle.

It IS possible and you’re already part of the way to that goal!

Understand that every day is not going to be 100% perfect.  That’s ok.  That’s, in fact, reality.

When it comes to setting goals, and establishing habits, Precision Nutrition recommends that we under-promise and over-deliver. What one thing have you decided to do for yourself?  Ask yourself,

“On a scale of 1-10, how confident am I that I could do this every day for the next 30 days?”  If your If your gut reaction is anything other than “9” or “10”, find a way to make that promise smaller or easier.

For example, instead of, “I’m going to stop eating all sweets, cut carbohydrates during the day and not eat anything after 7 pm.  I’m also going to go to the gym for 30 minutes every day, 5 days a week”, why not pick one of these to start with:

• “I’ll stop eating at each meal when I’m about 80% full.”
• “I’ll eat what I’m eating now, but slightly less of it.”
• “I’ll eat one (or one more) home-cooked meal each day.”
• “I’ll eat one big salad a day.”
• “I’ll add vegetables to at least one meal each day this week.”
• “I’ll add protein to at least one (or two) meals each day this week.”
• “I’ll add 20 minutes of exercise each day. It might be in the gym but it might just be dancing

around the house as soon as I get home from work.  It might be going for a walk or actively playing with the kids/dog.”

• “I’ll get two solid workouts in per week, scheduled in my calendar, and go from there.”

Focus on changing just one habit each week – or even just one habit every couple of weeks.

Ugg.  That sounds so boring.  How can we possibly reach our goals without being hard-core?

That’s how it works!  The people I have seen make the biggest life changes, did it one habit at a time…bit by bit by bit.

WE EXPECT TO REACH A PERFECT POINT

We tend to think that we just need to workout for 12 weeks, 6 months, or “until summer’:  whatever timeframe seems “reasonable”.  At that point, we’ll be exactly where we had hoped to be. We will be done.

I received a message a couple of weeks ago, from a young woman who has done amazing things with her body! For the first time, EVER, she felt comfortable enough to take a selfie in her bathing suit!!! I mean, AMAZING!!!!

The problem is that she’s worried about her weight on the scale. She’s NOT alone!!! I have been doing this for a (very) long time. I counsel other people. I know the scale isn’t what we should spend our time struggling with….but…I do it too!! I am the heaviest I have ever been. It shouldn’t bother me. My husband says, I look amazing and that I have more muscle than I’ve ever had. I’m stronger than I’ve ever been in my life. I’m still wearing the same size clothes I’ve always worn. But….that damn number on the scale. It bother me too. I get it. I’m a woman. Just like many of you, I’ve had weight pushed at me all of my life. I think I should never see higher than a certain number when I get on the scale. Just like you do.

It’s bullshit. But, there it is.

It’s not “just” inches.  That’s amazing!!!!!  WE need to try not to worry about some random number.  How do we feel? How do we look?

Further, let me ask you this. Do you want to be healthy just for 12 weeks, 6 months, or the summer?

I hope not.

I think we would like to be fit and healthy for life.

If that’s the case, we need to take care of ourselves for life.

That doesn’t mean “be on a diet” for life.  It doesn’t mean “killing it in the gym, every day” for life.  It means, implementing (boring, routine) healthy habits for nutrition and exercise, for life.

For real life, which is not a sprint or a “12-week program”.

Let that sink in for just one second, because it may change the entire way you behave from this point forward.

Healthy habits are for life.

So, what if we focused on incorporating health and nutrition into our (messy, crazy, wonderful) lives, as they are, instead of trying to cram our lives into some “program”?

xo

Debbie Hatch | Family & F.I.T.

Some of my friends say that I can find a relatable lesson in almost anything.  I’m beginning to believe they might be right.  We’ll blame it on far, far too many years of conducting root cause analysis in the office but I think it’s a good skill to have.

Yes, this happened. But, why?

So here’s what happened.  After dropping the kids at school this morning, and grabbing a coffee on my way home, I was really looking forward to breakfast.  Especially because I had to get my coffee at Dunkin’ Donuts and it’s quite low on my preference list.

#1 Cappuccino IN Italy

#2 Bailey’s & coffee made by my son or my husband 😉

#3 Custom-crafted cappuccino in a decent US coffee shop

#4 Lavazza

#5 Starbucks

#6 Dunkin

#7 Gas station coffee

Yes, I might have a “problem” with coffee.  Do you see how easily, I got distracted and off track just mentioning the word?  But, anyway.  Dunkin’ will work.

That said, my cup also had a Patriots’ logo on it.
I’m a Seahawks fan, so, umm, ya….

I digress.

THE SITUATION: 

With all of the (additional) recent travel, it’s been a while since I’ve enjoyed protein pancakes so I whipped up a batch

These were the pancakes I envisioned…. not the pancakes I ended up with.

(egg whites, dark cocoa, and red velvet cake protein powder – that’s it).

– I reached over the stove for the olive oil, sprayed the pan, and reached up to put the spray away.

– It didn’t slide all the way into its slot, fell out of the cupboard,

– Hit the pan handle which

– Caused the pan to fly across the counter and

– Hit the glass bowl containing my pancake mixture, causing

– It to crash to the floor and break into a million pieces.

– There was pancake mixture and broken glass, everywhere.

MY THOUGHTS ABOUT THE SITUATION: 

My first thoughts, in order (and happening within seconds of each other) were:

(a) Crap!! That was my last bit of red velvet protein powder – it’s my favorite for pancakes/waffles.

(b) Is there any way that I can scoop this up from the floor and still make the pancake I was soooooo looking forward to?  Yes, that’s gross. No, I didn’t do it but YES, that did go through my mind!!!

(c) Well, this was a series of unfortunate events.

I really DID think that (again, see my initial sentence about root cause analysis – in several of my past jobs, I couldn’t just say “this happened”, I had to say “here is the likely reason that this happened.”) and I said those words, verbatim, to my daughter this morning.  “Well, this was a series of unfortunate events.”    

One thing didn’t “go wrong”.  My pancakes didn’t just end up on the floor.  Everything actually began with me not taking the extra half a second to get the olive oil back into the slot.

In fact, then, I created the problem.

This didn’t “happen to me”.  The world is not conspiring against me.  I didn’t have “bad luck”.  This did not happen because “it’s one of those days” or “it is definitely Monday.”  This happened because I was in a rush (which saved me nothing, by the way).

WHAT I DID ABOUT THE SITUATION: 

…and there it was.  My breakfast on the floor.

I took the time to clean up the mess first because it forced me to slow down a little bit.

I didn’t have any more of that protein powder but I did have more cocoa and a couple more eggs.  My daughter had some vegan protein powder in her cupboard.  That stuff is okay to drink but it’s too thin to make decent pancakes. Oh well.  It’s all I had.

I mixed up another batch of not-so-great pancakes.  Topped them with a little peanut butter.

WHAT’S MY POINT?

My point is that lessons don’t come just from large, paradigm-altering, life-shattering events.  Lessons can come in the tiny little inconveniences that happen every day.

You can choose to allow those things to ruin your day OR you can choose to

RE-EVALUATE (What caused this problem)

MAKE A PLAN (It happened.  There’s nothing I can do about that.  What can I do at this point to move forward?)

EXECUTE THE PLAN EVEN IF IT’S NOT PERFECT  These pancakes were not anywhere close to what the original pancakes would have been like). I concur with James C. Collins that good is the enemy of great – and we should not settle – but perfection is the enemy of good.  The fact is that some days, good has to be good enough.

Do what you can, when you can, with what you have available to you.