by Lucy | Sep 1, 2016 | Well Balanced Wisdom
Last week I talked about treating yourself when the time is right. Today, I follow up on something I mentioned at the end of that blog. I said that I didn’t want to struggle with the sugar dragon every night, aka my sweet tooth. Well, my friends, this is something I am still working on, but I have a secret weapon. I invite you to use this awesome mindful eating tool that can help you manage your cravings. I will also share some strategies that have helped me cut out a lot of sugar.
What Causes Cravings for Sweets?
Many things can trigger cravings. It can be a result of an unbalanced diet. For example, not eating an adequate amount of protein or fat at meals can result in late night snacking. Lucy talks about this in her account of how she broke up with sugar here. Cravings can also be habitually or emotionally driven.
Here we will discuss the habitual and emotional drivers of cravings and share a mindful eating tool for keeping cravings in check. Sugar cravings can be fierce and unrelenting, that’s why I like to refer to my sweet tooth as the sugar dragon. It creeps in your head and demands sweets. It breathes down your neck until it gets something yummy and sweet.
Think about the times your cravings usually occur. Cravings hit when you’ve sat at a desk way too long. Maybe they come when you are alone and bored on the weekends or when you are frustrated, stuck, or exhausted at the end of the day.
We may not recognize these feelings at first, but when the sugar dragon pops up it’s often because something is going on underneath the surface, making us feel vulnerable or uncomfortable. Cravings hit during the times when we feel bored, lonely, tired or vulnerable. In an effort to protect ourselves, our brain will try to divert us from those uncomfortable feelings.
Sugary treats are often readily available at any turn, easy to obtain, only take a minute or two to eat, and they make us feel good almost immediately (although only momentarily). No wonder turning to sugar in one form or the other is a natural habit to pick up. It feels so good that our brain decides we should do that more often. The only trouble is using sugar as a solution isn’t going to help you in the long run.
How do you manage or stop cravings?
To conquer cravings and formed habits, we must retrain our brain. Breaking the habit and fighting the cravings takes awareness and intention. The mindfulness tool below will help you with those two things. Next time the sugar dragon taunts you, instead of immediately complying take a moment to stop and gather some DATA (Describe, Accept, Time, and Assess)…
- Describe the moment to yourself. Where are you? What are you doing? What just happened? What are you feeling? What do you need? What are you thinking? What story are you telling yourself?
- Accept it all for what it is and sit with any discomfort. When doing this, treat yourself like you would your best friend. That means no shaming, blaming, or demeaning yourself for anything. Know that it is okay to be feeling this emotion and show yourself compassion.
- Take time to turn away from the craving and if uncomfortable feelings are under the surface think about what you truly need to process those. You could journal your thoughts, do some coloring, go on a walk, call a friend, tidy up a room, pray or meditate. You can come back to the craving in 10-20 minutes.
- After taking time away, you can now assess your craving and make a deliberate decision rather than an impulsive one. You might still choose to eat something, or you might notice that whatever you did to turn away from the craving lessened the desire to fix the problem with sweets. Perhaps you realize you simply need some sleep, to talk through your feelings, to show yourself some compassion or choose a non-food way to self-soothe.
My challenge to you is to try this tool this week. I’ve done this exercise a few times throughout both of my whole30 experiences and continue to use it when cravings arise. I’ve learned a lot from pausing before reacting. Let me know how it goes for you and what you learn from implementing this mindfulness tool for managing sugar cravings.
What other ways can you stop sugar cravings?
Here are five other ideas to help you cut back on sweets and sugar.
- Be sure you are getting enough protein and healthy fats at each meal.
- Include fruit in your meal so you can end on a naturally sweet note
- Drink a tall glass of ice water perhaps with lemon or a chilled glass of coconut water. Sometimes hydration can ward off a sweet tooth.
- Brush your teeth. Often times, we crave sweet food because we can still taste our dinner. A clean mouth feels excellent and can signal that you are done eating.
- Don’t keep desserts in the house or at eye-sight, especially if you are an abstainer – read more about this in Are you an abstainer or moderator?
by Lucy | Aug 29, 2016 | Motivational Mondays
| “We are spiritual beings having a human experience.” -Dr. Wayne Dyer |
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Sometimes as proud, busy, schedules-filling Americans, we are more concerned with being productive, instead of living the good life.
Last week, I was very in touch with all of my earthly possessions (especially since they are scattered about my floor in the new apartment). I was reminded that life is about more than making money and acquiring more things. In the light of an earthquake in Italy and flooding in Louisiana, life is about much more than our earthly possessions and status.
There is a lot of pleasure and joy to be found in experiences. Simple experiences such as a pleasant dinner with your family, going to play at the pool, accidentally stumbling upon a free outdoor concert, or getting an ice cream cone on a warm summer night.
Clearly, it is necessary to make money in order to keep a roof over your head and food on the table, but perhaps there is more opportunity to simply enjoy life?
I believe this concept is well summed up by Dr. Wayne Dyer in an excerpt from Change Your Thoughts to Change Your Life:
“Be a good animal and move freely, unencumbered with thoughts about where you should be and how you should be acting. For instance, imagine yourself as an otter just living your “otterness.” You’re not good or bad, beautiful or ugly, a hard worker or a slacker… You’re simply an otter, moving through the water or on the land freely, peacefully, playfully and without judgments.”
Food for thought:
Take a moment to be present today. Notice a beautiful flower or delight in a pleasant conversation at the office.
As a client reminded me last week, “After all, doing nothing is one of the best parts of being human.”
Recipe of the Week: CrockPot Thai Steak Salad
With back-to-school routines on the mind, we all need a little more help in the kitchen. That’s where the slow cooker comes in handy!
Normally, we think CrockPots are for cold weather… Put the tender cooked steak with a peanut-hoisein sauce on chopped greens and bam! You’ve got a yummy summer-time dinner.
This week’s recipe, CrockPot Thai Steak Salad is brought to you by thefoodcharlatan.com.
by Lucy | Aug 24, 2016 | Well Balanced Wisdom
Life is too short to not treat ourselves, especially in those really special, not-going-to-happen-everyday moments. Gretchen Rubin, author of Better Than Before, is a big fan of “treats” and so am I! She says that a treat can be anything that makes you happy. It can be a new book, extra time to meditate, a phone call with a pal or of course a yummy food or drink.
The key to treating ourselves in a well-balanced manner is to not let food treats creep into our everyday moments. This is tricky, right?? It is really easy to get in the habit of ending every meal with something sweet. I like how Eve Schaub puts it in her book Year of No Sugar. She says something along the lines of ‘not eating dessert after dinner feels like going to a movie and leaving right before the happy ending.’ Can you relate? Yep, me too. Eating a sweet after every meal is a hard habit to break but it’s an important one to think about.
Melissa Hartwig, creator of the whole30 program has a good rule of thumb. She calls it the one bite rule and it basically means don’t be afraid to stop at one bite if that food isn’t all that you thought it was cracked up to be. She says, “the only reason to indulge in a less healthy treat in the first place is if it’s so incredibly, deliciously worth it that you’re willing to accept the less healthy consequences as a trade-off for getting romantic with this treat.”
So for me those (two) s’mores that I ate were totally worth it! I savored every bite and took in the moment! And I loved watching my 3 year old do the same!! But I don’t want to reintroduce the sugar dragon in my life on a nightly basis. I sleep better and feel better without it.
So….here are some questions for you to ponder….
1. What makes you happy? What one considers a treat, may not be what you consider a treat. So knowing yourself is important! Make a list of at least 3 things that make you happy.
2. Which food treats are super special and worth every calorie? Is it your momma’s homemade pumpkin pie? Is it a latte from your favorite coffee shop that you enjoy with a friend? What makes them special to you?
3. What foods are you eating regularly that you could really pass up? Store bought cookies? Ice cream after dinner every night? Stale doughnuts at the office? Do they really taste good? Are they really special?
4. What non-food treats can you enjoy more often?
by Lucy | Aug 22, 2016 | Motivational Mondays
if nothing ever changed, there would be no butterflies
Stuff! Stuff everywhere! It’s moving week, and I’m not a huge fan of change.
As the story goes, when I attended preschool, it came time to transition from pre-K to kindergarten and I did not handle myself with grace and kindness.
Back then, when a child was acting out the teachers would give the child a bear hug from behind to help calm them down. Here comes five-year-old Lucy acting out because she had to switch schools, make new friends, adopt a new routine, and get used to new teachers – all in the same week! So I kind of freaked out.
The caring and brave teacher comes up and gives me a bear hug from behind, wrapping her arms around my arms and body with the hope of calming me down. Instead, this seemed to make matters worse so I bit the teacher. My mom will confirm I was not regularly biting people. Needless to say, this story goes down in history as a preliminary example of how I handle change.
I am proud to report that I have not bitten anyone all week! Below you’ll find some ideas for your own well-balanced transition back into the school year.
Strategies for Managing Change and Getting Back into a Groove:
- Put first things first. In a move, our family’s rule of thumb is to unpack the kitchen, the bathroom, and the bedroom first. When you have food to eat, a place to wash up, a bed to sleep and clothes on your back you are okay. If you aren’t unpacking but still in midst of a change, consider focusing on keeping these areas tidy and ready for your new routine.
- Ease back into it. When starting a new routine, consider doing a few practice rounds of going to bed earlier, packing lunches the night before and taking those 5-10 minutes of meditation or prayer time during the day to center yourself.
- Practice gratitude. In times of change I often start to feel a “not wanting” sensation – not wanting to unpack boxes, not wanting to deal with the change of address situation, etc. This is the mind’s natural tendency to resist change. Whenever I noticed this coming over me I stop and think of 5 things I’m grateful for.
- Don’t forget the magical power of list making to keep you on track. From my awesome brother-in-law, Jamie “Wunderlist is good for general list keeping. We share a couple of lists like the Home Depot and pre-vacation list.We use AnyList for food shopping. It lets you keep a list of favorites for quick staples shopping and you can create recipe lists which allow you to add all items for a specific dish. And it will put stuff into categories like Produce, Frozen, Meat, Canned Goods, etc.”
Food for thought:
The only constant in life is change.
Whether it’s a change by your design or by a greater power, let us view these as opportunities to reset and become more well-balanced.
by Lucy | Aug 17, 2016 | Well Balanced Wisdom
It’s 8pm. My husband is working the late shift. I just put the kids to bed. It was far from the peaceful scene I once pictured in my head before having kids. You know… sweet snuggles, fun bubble baths and sweet hugs and kisses before I leave the room. Don’t get me wrong there was some of that but not without plenty of struggles. Like the sprinting after my child who is running from me the moment I mention bath time, the frantic ‘oh crap where’d the paci go’ search, the argument over which pajamas to put on (the clean ones or the ones she has worn 5x in a row already), the shame from losing my temper, the cries for attention when I only have 2 hands and 1 lap, and the long lasting pleading, screaming, whiny finale I hear when I finally say, “it’s time to go to bed.”
Sigh. I close the door. While I still hear crying I walk down the stairs and look around at my messy house. I see dishes to do, toys to clean, emails to return, projects to work on…. ugh..I just can’t. It’s too much and I feel like I just ran a marathon! So, I open the pantry and I treat myself to some cookies. Just one more. And another. I can’t stop. Oh look… the package is gone. This is embarrassing.
Hello. My name is Kristen and I am a recovering perfectionist. I never thought I would admit to overindulging in a moment of weakness. To start out my blog post telling you about the far from perfect bedtime scene in my house. But I can share this with you now because I’ve learned to have compassion for myself, to realize that I’m only human, to look at my failures as lessons and to not let my failures define me.
Turns out that a requirement for being a human is to be imperfect. Which means FAILING is just part of the whole process. Well-balanced eating (and well-balanced living for that matter) is not fail proof because at the end of the day no matter what plan we decide to follow we are only human and this is real life.
Too often we expect the journey to be picture perfect and we don’t plan 
for the struggles. It doesn’t matter the number of mistakes, slips, failures – no matter what you call them – that you have, it’s how you embrace them and what you do next that matter the most. Lucy and I like to call them LESSONS because there is always something you can learn or a way you can grow from something not going the way you hoped. We can get a lot further if we embrace the struggle, have compassion for ourselves and never let our set-backs define us. Learn, love, grow and keep on, keeping on. What “lessons” have you learned lately?
Here is some food for thought:
What areas in your life did you imagine to be picture perfect?
What mistakes, slips, failures in your life can you embrace a little more? What lessons can you learn?
Do you beat yourself up for making mistakes? What can you do to show yourself more compassion when you mess up? (Journaling and positive affirmations work wonders for me!)
Are you letting your mistakes define you or hold you back? Instead, what can you do to grow?
by Lucy | Aug 15, 2016 | Motivational Mondays
If you are persistent, you will get it. If you are consistent, you will keep it.
I spend my spare time at the YMCA of Durham or Chapel Hill. I like to tell people if I’m not outside playing in the woods, I prefer to be playing at the YMCA.
Given my regular presence at the Y, I have the opportunity to see and get to know other people that workout there too. Some of you might remember Bendy Al, who typically works out between 1 – 3 PM. Then there are the highly motivated morning folks getting their sweat on between 5:30 – 8 AM – y’all are crazy and I love it! Not surprisingly, there’s quite the rush around 5 PM for people coming in after work.
If we’ve learned nothing else about making habits over the last 6 weeks, we know the most important part of establishing a habit is consistency. The people that regularly include exercise are the ones that show up around the same time at least a few days per week.
Steps to workout success
Step 1
Identify your energy peak zone – Do you feel energized in the morning or afternoon? What’s your most productive hours of the day?
Step 2
Pick together or flying solo – Decide if you enjoy exercising with a friend, in a group or prefer to use it as your “me time” to listen to some jams and zone out.
Step 3
Decide inside or outside – Some people are highly unmotivated to go to the gym but really enjoy walking in the park or around their neighborhood. That counts too! There are plenty of hiking trails around these parts in North Carolina to explore.
Step 4
Put it on your calendar – Most appointments we put on the calendar become priory. Take a look at yours and find a time to schedule the workouts.
Step 5
Track your awesomeness! My secret reward at the end of the day is to check my iPhone health apps and see how many steps I got that day. If it’s less than 10,000 I can usually take a walk around the block to get there. Maybe you have a Fitbit to keep you motivated? Or perhaps you’d prefer to track based on how your clothes fit or how much weight you can bench press now versus 3 months ago.
Food for thought:
You can’t wish or hope your way into regular exercise or a fit body.
Using the steps above you can create your ideal workout plan and make it happen!
Recipe of the Week: Mason Jar Greek Chicken Salad
It’s moving week!!! (I’m not going far, just back towards SouthPoint)
That means I’m going to need some easy grab-and-go meals. These mason jar salads can be prepared at the start of the week and will stay fresh 5-7 days in the fridge.
This week’s recipe, How to Make Greek Chicken Mason Jar Salad is brought to you by organizeyourselfskinny.com and youtube.com.
by Lucy | Aug 10, 2016 | Well Balanced Wisdom
My friends and family who knew me most growing up would say that I am not the outdoorsy type. First of all I hate bugs and second of all I just love the comfort of my own home. However, if you get me out there in the woods – I secretly love it. So when I hiked part of the AT with my husband and a great group of friends – it felt amazing. There is just something about the woods that renews your soul and makes you feel so alive!
Hello! I am so excited to be writing here every Wednesday for you all! Most of you know that playing in nature is one of Lucy’s favorite things to do and that it is a very important part of the Well-Balanced Nutrition brand. It’s something we both encourage because we know the benefits firsthand.
For my first contribution to Wellness Wednesday, I bring you the Well-Balanced Nutrition Manifesto. It exemplifies our philosophies and how we tie together nature, food and well-balanced living. As you read this I want you to picture yourself in the most beautiful forest you can imagine. The sun in shining, the trees are tall, the path ahead is inviting and a cool, gentle breeze is at your back. Here we go…
Little By Little We Travel Far
One small step in the right direction is all it takes, and it doesn’t matter how slow you go as long as you do not stop.
Go Out on a Limb
Try something new once in a while, even if it is challenging.
Have Fun (Seriously)
Play with your food, play in nature, just play more.
Watch out for Bears
They are out there but don’t let other people sabotage your hard work and happiness.
Ride the Waves
Healthy eating means sometimes over eating and sometimes under eating. Healthy living means having ups and downs. It’s how well you ride the waves that counts.
Stop and smell the Roses
Savor the beauty, eat mindfully and live in the moment.
Bloom where you are planted
Eat local and connect with your community.
Map it Out but be Flexible
Failing to plan is planning to fail, but being too rigid won’t get you far either.
Life is a Hike but the View is Great
Nothing great comes easily but with effort and perseverance comes great rewards.
Let’s go and be adventurers!
Take our hand and let’s start a wonderful, well-balanced journey together! The more the merrier!
There you have it! That pretty much sums up our mission and our message. This. is. our. manifesto.
Food for Thought: What stood out to you in this manifesto? Grab a pen and paper and write down your favorite part. Perhaps revisit it a few times this week.
Thanks for stopping by! See you next week!
by Lucy | Aug 8, 2016 | Motivational Mondays
“The afternoon knows what the morning never suspected.”
― Robert Frost
Do you ever finish a meal and think “that was good, but I could go for a little more?”
This happens to me regularly. I pack my lunch most days of the week, including the hiking adventures on Saturday. I typically make a salad because I find them versatile, convenient and delicious. The salad includes some sort of green leafy vegetable, tomato, avocado or leftover veggies, a protein such as tuna salad, hard-boiled egg or chicken. Always with fruit on the side or included on top! As well as, some sort of dressing – typically a homemade honey mustard or balsamic vinaigrette.
I typically feel about 80 to 90% full when I’m done with my lunch. The salads are filling and appropriately portioned but sometimes I want that last little nibble at the end of the meal. Almost without fail, I’ll have an appointment or some other activity to go do after lunch and within 20 to 30 minutes I notice that I’m actually 100% full and satisfied.
In Okinawa, Japan they have one of the highest population of centenarians – people over 100 – at about 50 per 100,000 people [1]. The population practices a self-imposed calorie-restriction, which some researchers believe contributes to their longevity. The Okinawan elders ask their bodies to stop them from eating after they become 80% full, which is called hara hachi bun me.
At first, I thought this sounded odd, but upon further observation, it actually makes a lot of sense. It takes, on average, approximately 20 minutes for your stomach to tell the brain that it’s had enough to eat.
This is where the 20% white space rule was born as depicted in the Well-Balanced Plate. In our American food culture, it’s pretty easy to overeat. The portions are oversized and the restaurants aren’t shy with the added fats, sugars, and salt to keep us coming back for more.
Food for thought:
There are many ways to put the 20% white space idea into practice:
- Order an appetizer for your meal
- Choose a salad plate to serve dinner on
- Put the fork or spoon down between each bite
- Share an entree with a friend or family member
- Wait 15-20 minutes after finishing the first plate before getting seconds
Which works best for you?
Recipe of the Week: Banana Pancakes the Easy Way
It’s almost back-to-school time! In honor of this fun and transitional time of year, I’m including my most favorite breakfast from my childhood – banana pancakes!
This week’s recipe, Banana Pancakes the Easy Way* is brought to you by the allrecipes.com.
*Note: I suggest nut butter instead of syrup to add protein and reduce sugar. I use 1/2 whole wheat or oat flour and 1/2 all-purpose.
by Lucy | Aug 1, 2016 | Motivational Mondays
Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, the mind can achieve. -Napoleon Hill
To catch you up, I went on a 21-day elimination diet to figure out my IBS issues, which you can read more about in Lucy’s PB Story.
What story are you telling yourself?
I told myself, “I could never live without peanut butter!” As it turns out, that’s not true. I really enjoy eating peanut butter, but what I really like is the creamy, sweet & salty combo that peanut butter provides.
Maybe you’ve said, “I could never drink black coffee!” Or “I wish I could slow down while I eat, but I always ate fast growing up and this is just how I am.” Perhaps you’re telling people “I want to work out, but I just don’t have time for it.”
We all have stories that are keeping us from achieving our goals. We justify a lot of our actions or inactions by the stories.
A few lessons I’ve learned:
It comes down to mind over matter. The first three weeks were difficult; however, it got progressively easier day by day. Every time I was tempted to eat something that might knock me off course I remembered why I started this elimination in the first place. My mantra became “I am healing myself from the inside out and I feel much better now.”
A bit of creative thinking and self-compassion can go a long way. When/if you decide to make lifestyle changes remember that it’s going to require your time, energy and attention. Give yourself creative freedom to enjoy the journey and lots of self-love and compassion to stay the course.
Over the past few weeks, I’ve been to the pool at least 2-3 times a week and I am not ashamed! I deserved a treat for my efforts and lounging by the pool with Harry Potter is my happiness.
Failing to plan is a plan for failure. This has never been truer for me. One day, in the first week, I did not pack enough food for snacks and on the way to a client appointment my blood sugars crashed. I was driving down Weaver Dairy Rd and I knew if I didn’t go find food hangry Lucy would present herself. Luckily, Food Lion was just a mile away and I went and got myself a Lara bar (energy dense but delicious whole-food option!).
Food for thought:
For any new changes you are considering, don’t be afraid to consult a trusted online resource (one of my favorites!), your best friend, family or your friendly local dietitian – *wink*wink – for some strategies and guidance to set you up for success.
by Lucy | Jul 25, 2016 | Motivational Mondays
Last Friday I was thinking about how I ought to start drafting Motivational Monday, but I just couldn’t get inspired. Sure, I have a few ideas and stories I want to share with y’all – it’s just finding the time, motivation and energy that’s the problem.
According to Darren Hardy, we are up to 30% less productive during the summer months than any other time of year. As far as I can tell, this seems pretty accurate, but I don’t think it’s a bad thing. Of course, the boss lady is still going to expect you to show up for meetings and answer emails, but why not play hooky a few Friday afternoons just because?
Kristen and I were discussing “summer vacation brain” (as I keep calling it) and she made a good point… Isn’t nice to have a season that is all about playing with friends, cooking outside on the grill and getting rest & relaxation?
I’m thankful this concept is starting to sink in for me! Below I thought it would be fun to share a few pics of how your WBN team enjoys R&R in the summer.
Whether it’s a simple Saturday morning trip to the Durham Farmer’s Market, enjoying indoor s’mores (easy to make on a gas stove top!), or taking a northern Michigan road trip adventure, Well-Balanced Nutrition loves summertime!
For those of you not on Snapchat with me, you may not know about my obsession with picnics. I find great joy in eating outside – plus it’s way easier to be mindful! This photo above is from a particularly delightful lunch at Atlantic beach with my old friend Harry Potter.
Food for thought:
•Food adventures at the Farmer’s Market
•Long weekends at the beach
•Field trips to the library
•Stopping by a lemonade stand
•A froyo date (topped w/ fresh berries, of course!)
•Reading a good book with a cool drink by the pool
How are you enjoying summer vacation?
Speaking of summertime food adventures, what’s a summer vacation without delicious corn-on-the-cob?!
This week’s recipe, Perfectly Grilled Corn on the Cob is brought to you by Bobby Flay with FoodNetwork.com.
