You catch more flies with honey! Let’s apply that approach to our diet and food choices.
Noooooo, I don’t mean putting honey on everything; however, sometimes just a squeeze of the bear can enhance your salad dressing, yogurt, peanut butter toast, etc… Yum.
The power of a positive message is shown to be more effective on influencing food choices. Most of us do not respond well to “don’t.” I believe this is a natural resistance that I liken to our former 2-yr old selves that did not like being told how to do something. Parents of young children, you know what I’m talking about!
For example, telling yourself, your spouse or children the positive effect of picking an apple to fuel our bodies instead of chips or crackers is going to be taken better. Read more on the study conducted by Cornell in this Science Daily article “‘Do’ is better than ‘Don’t’ when it comes to eating better.”
Additional information on the power of positive thinking can be found in this article on the “Six habits of positive people“. My favorite is number 6 because that is important in our health decisions too! Even if you eat ice cream for dinner it’s okay to just accept it and get back on track tomorrow.
Food for thought:
What’s one healthy thing you can pat yourself on the back for this week?
Maybe you got up and went for a nice long walk on Saturday morning or enjoyed strawberries for dessert!
Good for you! I’m here cheering you on and so proud of you for making the right decisions and if nothing else being mindful and enjoying the moments that you indulge.
There is always something to celebrate.
Most likely we’ve all been celebrating this past weekend for the 4th of July.
While walking through the grocery store last week I got to thinking about how there’s almost always something to celebrate. Notice the ever present holiday season – thank you retail stores of America for always reminding us what the next holiday is.
Each season comes with it’s own respective food to mark the occasion:
-> Cookies at Christmas
-> Cake for birthdays and graduation
-> Plenty of ice cream to bring in the summer months
If you’ve been following, you already know I’m not opposed to treats (see “What’s your vice?” for proof)! However, this constant bombardment of sweets, treats and so on can seriously start to impede on all the good stuff we do when we are not celebrating.
As someone who often finds herself indulging in these traditional celebration treats I want to take a moment to applaud those of you who have overcome the temptations.
I once had a client for personal training who told me that she had turned a new leaf because when she would go to parties or gatherings and somebody would offer her something off the dessert table, such as a rice crispy treat, she would simply say “no thank you, I already know what those taste like.”
Food for thought:
Never say never. The key to a well-balanced diet and life is to teach ourselves how to indulge within our limits.
If you can’t stop at 2 or 3 Oreos, you know not to buy Oreos. My go-to midweek dessert is 1/2 banana w/ 1 Tbsp natural peanut butter and a handful of chocolate chips. Yummy!
It’s that crazy time of year when everyone is hitting the road to make their way up the coast, into the mountains or wherever makes the heart happy. With the chaos that surrounds this season of travel I’d like to bring the focus back to the simple things in life that make summertime enjoyable.
I’m including my top 10 favorite summer activities from realsimple.com 50 Fun Summer Activities. Have you made your list? In September you can look back and see how much fun you had!
Lucy’s Top 10 Favorite summer activities:
10. Go get FroYo with a friend (with all the toppings!)
9. Blow bubbles, do chalk art and catch lightening bugs w/ my niece and nephew
8. Ride a roller-coaster!
7. Play miniature golf (preferably at Lakeside, OH)
6. Take a trip to buy fresh local produce at the big
Farmer’s Market
5. Eat corn-on-the-cob at the State Fair
4. Go kayaking and swim in a lake
3. Collect seashells at the beach
2. Go to a baseball game, drink a beer and enjoy a corndog
1. Go White Water Rafting in WV!!!
Food for thought:
At the end of the day it’s not about the adventures we go on, the stuff we buy or the food we eat. Instead it’s about the people we get to share these experiences with.
Spending quality time with the people we love is what really matters. I wish that for you and yours!
Last week while working on the fifth edition of my business plan it occurred to me that I need to take a new approach. Instead of worrying this idea or that idea are not going to be “marketable” I decided I need to change the way I’ve been thinking about it.
My preferred approach is to start acting as though I’ve already succeeded.
Our minds are probably the most powerful resource we have regarding what happens in our life. As my friend Cameron puts it, “belief is the foundation for how your world operates.” Another way to think about the power of the mind comes from Theodore Roosevelt, “believe you can and you’re half way there.”
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I tend to say we make time for that which is important to us. Generally, I am referring to people making time or not making time to prepare food or exercise regularly.
Lately, I’ve decided this is not always true. Exercise is important to me; however, sometimes I get so preoccupied in the business at hand I’m lucky to squeeze in a workout in between everything else. (For those of you who don’t know me well, sitting still is not a strength of mine!)
A tale of poor time management
Fridays mornings are my day to attend to Well Balanced Nutrition and do meetings, errands and other business activities that need attention during regular business hours.
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