What have I learned in the past 51 years? Please listen...

My podcast Interview:
 What I have learned in the past 51 years from my own experiences, research, struggles, accomplishments and most of all, from my clients. 

This is for anyone who wants to understand how to stay fit and healthy and prevent weight gain as we get older. 

Please click this link: 

https://youtu.be/h77KQu24Vdc

Annie's food logs before we met for her nutrition session and Annie's food log after we met.

Hi Deborah,

A little background on me: I am 25 year old female, athletic (I work out 1-3 times a week, but when training for an event 2-4 times a week), no health issues, I'm 5'7 and I currently weigh about 170 pounds. 

My goal and what I am looking for with nutrition coaching is to achieve a healthy weight loss of 20 pounds. My diet is on the go, no fast food but exactly cooked at home or fresh.

 I am looking forward to hearing about the services you offer and hope they can aide me in my weight loss journey. 

Regards,

Annie

Hi Annie,

It is great hearing from you. Would you be able to send me a 3-4 day food log? Time of day is very important...along with any name brands of foods you eat. 

Once I get the food log, I can access how much time and what kind of session I can offer you...I hope you feel okay with this. 
It is a great way for me to get to understand where you are at and where we will go with your nutrition. 

I look forward to getting the food logs and going from there!!!

Deb

ANNIE'S FOOD LOGS BEFORE OUR NUTRITION SESSION:
Hi Deborah,

Below is my food log:

09/10:


0600- protein power pack from 711

 (grapes, hard boiled egg,  mini bagel,

 cream cheese) my fitness pal-263 calories,

 NOS energy drink sugar free


DEB'S RED X FOR NOT "DEB APPROVED"

DEB'S NOTES-

Ingredients

Carbonated Water, Citric Acid, Sodium Hexametaphosphate (Preservative), Potassium Phosphate, Taurine, Natural Flavors, Caffeine, Gum Arabic, Sodium Benzoate (Preservative), Salt, Phosphoric Acid, Acesulfame Potassium, Sucralose, Ester Gum, Yellow 5, Inositol, Calcium Disodium EDTA (Preservative), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vit. B6), Yellow 6, Guarana Extract, Cyanocobalamin (Vit. B12) 

BACK TO ANNIE'S FOOD LOG:

0930- questbar cookies and cream flavor

1230-100 calorie pack of blue diamond

 almonds

1500- salad with mixed greens, 2 tablespoons of poppy seed dressing (from hospital cafeteria), chick peas, hard boiled egg, and 100 calorie starkist tuna pack

1800- half of a southwest turkey wrap from hospital cafeteria

2100-two slices of sarpinos pizza (cheese, pineapple, and bacon) and 1 angry orchard cider

09/11:

0830-everything bagel with egg and cheese from dunkin donuts, large ice coffee with splenda

1230- questbar apple pie flavor, red bull 8.4 oz sugar free

1400-cocotein drink from isopure and 6 inch turkey sub with cheese, mustard, and veggies from subway

1900- 2 pulled pork sliders, no buns from work party, 3 red's apple ciders

2100- 1/2 of a burger and 1/2 of fries from kumas corner

09/12:

0630- questbar apple pie flavor

1100- questbar apple pie flavor

1400- salad with mixed greens, hard boiled egg, tofu, chick peas, peas, cucumber, 2 tablespoons poppy seed dressing from hospital cafeteria with 100 calorie starkist tuna pack

1800- chicken breast and drum stick off of a rotisserie chicken from Mariano's

2100- monster milk protein powder 1

 scoop and 2 cups almond milk

09/13:

0700- quest bar apple pie flavor

1230- salad from whole foods salad bar, spinach, mixed greens, balsamic tofu, corn, peas, feta cheese

1400-cocotein protein drink

1630- 1/2 of a udi's gluten free pepperoni pizza

1900-pulled pork from smoke bbq, side of baked beans, side of brisket chili

2100- skinny cow snickerdoodle ice cream sandwich

DEB'S NOTES-

Ingredients

Low Fat Snickerdoodle Ice Cream: Skim Milk, Corn Syrup, Sugar, Cream, Buttermilk, Tapioca Starch, Guar Gum, Cinnamon, Pectin, Natural Flavor. Oatmeal Cookies: Wheat Flour, Sugar, Baby Oats, Palm Oil, Molasses, Corn Syrup, Corn Starch, Salt, Soy Lecithin, Caramel Color, Natural Flavor, Baking Soda, Cocoa.

† No significant difference has been shown between milk from rBST treated and non-rBST treated cows.

I look forward to hearing back from you. 

Thanks,

Abby

Hi Annie,

Thank you for sending the food logs.

As an athlete, I see that you could use some guidance on how to fuel your body correctly so that you can make sure to build lean muscle and burn body fat and have a great amount of energy too. 

You are not doing a bad job, it just looks like having the right education on eating food as fuel, making sure it tastes good and is convenient and also making sure that your body gets what it needs to thrive, is the path to get you on.

Here is what I suggest...

I would come to your home and we would have a session that involves educating you on the correct way of eating for YOUR body. This is not a diet, it is learning about food as fuel and how to fuel YOUR body correctly during the day. 

Then we will create a food plan that you will follow for 2 weeks, based on foods you like, that fit into your lifestyle and that will get you to reach your goals. 

During the 2 weeks I encourage you to email me every day with your food logs. This way I can be right with you each step making sure that you feel good, that you are staying on the right path and that if you have any questions or concerns I will be right there to answer your questions and help you with any snags!!!

After the 2 weeks,  my clients go on a grocery shopping trip with me at their preferred grocery store. At this point, you will "get" how to eat correctly and will be able to incorporate a ton of new exciting healthy foods into your plan. Please let me know if this sounds like what you are looking for...

Smiles...

Deb

Deborah,


I was smiling the whole time reading your email. I am very excited about this and think this is already sounding like a great plan! 

When I first started researching nutritional coaching, I was looking for something that can be personalized to fit my life and not just a generic slap on "detox diet extreme" that I am sure would in the short term get me towards my goal but down the road I would be right back to square one. 

I am looking for the right education and guidance to make long term changes in my life so that nutrition isn't something that is compromised for me. I also love the idea of the grocery shopping trip because I usually find that I struggle in knowing what I need to be buying for a healthy weeks worth of food. 

I know that having to answer to someone will really help me as well, I have had luck with myfitnesspal with logging my food but knowing someone is actually reading my food log will give me an extra boost of self control to make more conscious nutritional choices in what I eat.

Annie

HERE IS ANNIE'S FOOD LOG AFTER OUR NUTRITION SESSION. NOTICE THE BRAND SWAPPING THAT WE DID TO USE THE SAME TYPE OF FOOD PRODUCTS BUT WITH A BRAND THAT HAS "DEB APPROVED" INGREDIENTS. 

ANNIE DID SUCH A GREAT JOB AND WAS OPEN TO TRYING THE NEW FOODS. AND SHE LOVED THEM AND SHE REACHED HER GOALS. LET ME KNOW IF YOU WANT AN UPDATE.

Deb,

food log for yesterday:

0630-overnight oats, almond milk, banana

0930-hard boiled egg and Lara Bar pumpkin pie

1230-two pieces Ezekiel  bread with turkey and mustard, dried apples

1530-hummus and carrots

1830-protein chocolate cake slice

2030-homemade veggie soup with carrots, celery, spinach, jalapenos, and organic chicken

food log for today-

0630-overnight oats, almond milk, banana

0930-hard boiled egg and Lara Bar pumpkin pie

1230-homemade veggie soup with carrots, celery, spinach, jalapenos, and organic chicken + Pieces Ezekiel bread

1530-hard boiled egg and chocolate protein cake slice

1630-banana

2000-homemade veggie soup with carrots, celery, spinach, jalapenos, and organic chicken

I'm feeling good, went for a run today!!!



I'm really liking the

 assortment of foods I'm eating and feel

 good about my protein intake. Okay, so

 the protein chocolate cake is a work in

 progress but by the time I see you I will

 have a perfected one just for you because

 honestly it is very tasty! 


Its my first time

 using real 100% organic cocoa 

powder...learned its very bitter, but one of

 those apple sauces added to the mixture

 seemed to really change it up and add a

 sweet moisture that's natural! 


here is a

 link to what it looks like-

http://proteinpow.com/2013/03/my-post-workout-chocolate-protein-cake.html

its cottage cheese, egg whites, protein powder, cocoa, black beans, and now applesauce hehe. 

have a good night :)
Annie

Cindy's Food Log: Starch at night? Is your mood affecting your eating? Do Food Logs Help?

Hi Deb,
Here's my food for today:

9am
Banana pancakes (so fun! I've never made healthy pancakes before -- they were good and I ate them all)
Topped with Greek yogurt and blueberries (reminded me of sour cream pancakes)
Ingredients: 100% almond flour, aluminum-free baking powder, sea salt, 2 bananas, 2 eggs, unsweetened almond milk, coconut oil,  vanilla

1:45pm
Rx bar

7pm

Avocado with turkey bacon, butter lettuce, and tomato, with olive oil
Woven wheat's sprinkled with olive oil, hummus and kalamata olives

I broke the starch rule again. I wanted something more after the avocado and I wanted it to be filling and substantial and not a vegetable. The woven wheat's went really well with the hummus and olives. 

10pm (I will eat this in 10 min!)
Apple with peanut butter

Do you think I ate enough today. The pancakes were very sustaining and the dinner was light and delicious. 

No mentionable thoughts about alcohol today except being aware that I would be writing something about it here. I did have the passing thought that if I wasn't being intentional about it I probably would have had something to drink this evening, just out of habit. 

I felt really sad today.. I think it's related to the weather. I just wanted to stay inside all day although I managed to get to a yoga class and ran a few errands. I realized that I've been recording my feelings in these logs off and on.

In addition to the alcohol log I'd like to be consistent about how I've been feeling emotionally each day. In the past my eating has been linked to certain emotions, although that didn't happen today. How would you feel about that?

I found it a bit disheartening that I remember writing to you day after day during the 3 weeks of logs and telling you I was feeling a bit down because of that terrible cold that lasted too long and then feeling this way again. I might have seasonal affective disorder. I want to keep an eye on that.--Cindy

Cindy,

I do think you left too much time between meals/snacks. I LOVE the pancakes...such a great idea and they sound yummy!!!!

But 5 hours between meals can only lead to cravings for something "filling" and something starchy and something that is probably going to be better left for the day time (Woven wheat's)  when you are moving and using the starch/sugar that will turn into fat if we do not use it up with movement like we do during the day.

I think writing about your feelings is great. I always love hearing a deeper level of what is going on and I also think that right now is the same point that you were at in the 3 weeks.

You might have gotten to a point in the "plan" where you are over the "thrill" again and you are feeling like you are being restrictive and you want to "break the rules." There have been a few days when the gap between meals has been longer and you have eaten the starch at night (corn tortillas can act the same as starch...turning into sugar which turns into fat when we do not "use" it. And at night, if we eat the starch, we just sit and then lay down and it has nowhere to go except to then turn into sugar and then turn into fat.) Do you think this is happening?

I could not see the menu with the smoothie the other day. Did it have protein in it?

I hope I answered all your questions. Please let me know if I looked over anything. I do love that you mentioned you did not think about drinking but it was also because you knew you had to write about it...I think that is pretty cool!!!!!! :)

I look forward to hearing how you feel...hugs!!!--Deb

Deb,

Thanks for all your feedback -- I love reading what you have to say. 

As you figured, I do think ahead about eating/mood/longer term goals. Right now it's easy to make decisions because I'm committed to this plan. In the past, even though I could think ahead, it wasn't always easy to follow through on my longer term goals. It feels good that right now that is not an issue. I will keep a close eye on my food and exercise right now. 

I agree that I left too much time between food. Yesterday I was napping on the couch not wanting to do anything but I made myself get up and get an Rx bar for a snack. By the time I ate it I was still full from the pancakes but ate it anyway.

Do you ever have the experience where you take longer to eat between meals depending on what you had earlier in the day? Perhaps I should have eaten less pancakes so that I was ready for my snack.

I just realized that in an earlier paragraph I wrote "broke the rule" and in the ending paragraph I wrote I'm working on not thinking about these things as rules :) It was good to see that.

My thoughts when I ate the Woven Wheat's were something like, "I can eat a few Woven Wheat's -- I've been eating so good in general it's fine if I eat a starch at 7pm, overall it's a lot less harmful than what I was doing in the past." I know my inner dialogue described above doesn't line up with the point of the plan. But it was where I was at last night. I will keep in mind the point that the starch turns into sugar if we are not moving around. 

I will write about my feelings in each log -- so glad you want to hear these things! Today I am feeling much better. I did a lot of self-care yesterday and got a good night sleep and the sun is shining today so things are better. 

The coffee smoothie had hazelnut milk in it, which has more protein than other nut milks. Perhaps still not enough for a proper stand alone snack. The pistachio one is a better choice if I'm going to use it as a snack. 

My not drinking alcohol was not connected with thinking about writing it -- I meant to say that I only thought alcohol as a topic because I knew I would write about it in my food log and that led me to thinking how in the past I would have probably had a drink in the evening out of habit (not desire). Does that make sense?

Enjoy the sun today!
I'll write again later. --Cindy

Cindy,

I have eaten slower with certain meals and  adjust accordingly based on my hunger and what I had for that meal and what is going on for the rest of the day. I try and take the whole day into account...looking back and looking forward. I hope that explained your question!!!

This makes me so proud of you that you caught this because I did not...and what a great catch:

"I just realized that in an earlier paragraph I wrote 'broke the rule' and in the ending paragraph I wrote I'm working on not thinking about these things as rules :)"

Sun and sleep make for a much better day...on almost everyday!!!!

Yea, the amount of protein in the hazelnut milk is not enough. You can always ask them to add some nut butter or other nuts in the smoothie. :)

I love that you acknowledge that your thoughts were about habits and not desires. FABULOUS!!!!!! Hugs...--Deb

Hi Deb!
Here’s today:
8:45am
Smoothie — frozen banana, unsweetened almond milk, yogurt, cocoa, peanut butter
This was tasty!

11am
Black coffee 

1pm - lunch at coffee shop
Tree hugger sandwich - white bean hummus, portobello mushroom, spinach, red onion, mustard on white chibatta roll (they ran out of multi grain bread) — I peeled off the Gouda cheese and sucked the hummus off before discarding it!

I was working at a coffee shop and I forgot an Rx bar so found something with carbs and protein that I could eat. It was good.

5pm
Rx bar

8pm - dinner at Artango
Ahí tuna ceviche with avocado
Grilled red snapper with a couple potatoes wedges (they would not substitute vegetables even though I asked so I just had a couple and left the rest
2 glasses of red wine 

I went out with a friend to celebrate her success and she bought me dinner as a thank you for supporting her. Funny we went to a steak house since she’s a vegetarian and I ate fish. I wasn’t stuffed when I finished and I wasn’t hungry either.

Water: about 90oz

Exercise: 12,300 steps (including 1 he yoga class)

Mood: I was really content today. Felt good in general and the day seemed like it had a flow to it. I was busy and productive all day but not too busy. Made it to the dog park 3 times!! And to yoga which was really good.

Alcohol: I decided at the last minute to have wine. I hadn’t planned on it but wanted to share a bottle with my friend. I enjoyed it overall. When I got home I had a momentary twinge of regret but I really enjoyed it both before and after dinner.

Today I thought about dinner and the timing of it and worked backwards. So instead of putting breakfast off until I dropped off my dog at training I made the smoothie and drank it on the way to dropping him off and then went to the dog park.

This way I got more food in than I would have if I waited to have the smoothie until 11am. Then timed my lunch and snack accordingly.

Good eating day!
I think we make a great team too!!--Cindy

 Cindy,

Great job getting out and taking a yoga class!!! 

Yes, this weather is not good for our moods. I feel it can lead to SADD or it can also just lead to less movement which is not good for the mind or body. 

 I always try and think ahead (and I think you do too) that the end result of eating because  the weather is gloomy or because it is cold and we are depressed will only lead to more depression/saddness, etc. 

I know it is easier said than done but if you know this is about the seasons, keep a very close eye and radar on your food and exercise everyday with more attention than you would in the warm sunshine. --Deb

Hi Deb, 

 I love that you love reading what I have to say...we are a good team!!! --Cindy