MONDAY MORNING POST: READ HOW KATY'S FOOD LOG ACCOUNTABILITY HELPED HER BLOOD SUGAR ISSUES AND HER OVER-ALL HEALTH AND HAPPINESS. KATY'S FOOD LOG HAS SOME GREAT IDEAS FOR HEALTHY, YUMMY MEALS AND SNACKS. ENJOY!!!

Deborah,

Happppppyyyyyy Friday!  Yesterday was a good day and I noticed something amazing...I haven't had a blood sugar issue in over a week.  Prior to my meeting w/you, I would have low blood sugar episodes where I would get the sweats, become shaky and unable to focus/concentrate.  This would most commonly happen sometime between noon and 1:30 at work, but would also happened frequently on the weekends.  Being hungry is one thing, but when it's followed by the blood sugar side affects, the world just starts to spin, almost literally.  I realized that I feel so much more in control of myself/my eating habits...and I like it.  I have to confess something...I'm afraid of what will happen when I "go out on my own" and I'm not accountable for e-mailing you my food diary each day.  While I do like where I'm at, I feel good and I realize the terrible affect my old habits were having, I'm afraid that I'll slide back into my old ways (why am I getting emotional?  I feel like I could cry...is it the menstrual cycle?).  OK, now that I have expressed all that, let's move on to the food diary for Thursday, April 7th:

9:15am:     The usual: Ezekiel cinnamon raisin bread, almond butter and a banana with water.

10:30am:   Decaff coffee with more water (I've never drank so much water in my life)

12:30am:  Amazing lunch: left over quinoa/kale mixture from earlier in the week, 1 serving

Path of Life roasted garlic cauliflower, frozen/steamed, ate whole darn bag  added a few red kidney beans and garbanzo beans with - yes you guessed it - more water.  This meal was amazing with the mixture I made, the seasoned veggies made all the difference and I'm for sure buying this again!  I was on the verge of too full, but I had a lot of energy and felt good.  

3:40pm:    I ate the rest of my Food Print for Life yogurt parfait

Find the recipe on my blog. Just click the "recipe" button.

 mixture from Tuesday, even though I felt I could skip the snack, figured I probably needed the energy for my workout tonight.  More water with a half-caff. coffee

8:30pm:    I really really am not in the mood for dinner, but Deborah says not to skip meals.  So, I had a few plain almonds and some green grapes. Glad I ate - the grapes were refreshing after the workout and while watching the season finale of American Idol - I knew Trent Harmon would win!!!!!!!!!!!

Today for breakfast I mixed it up...(OK, so I have no more bananas or cinnamon raisin bread - sad face).  I had a serving of cottage cheese and 2 clementines ("cuties") and I feel pretty full.  Do you think I can put this breakfast in the rotation?  

I've been sleeping like a log and, as usual, having trouble getting up to the alarm.  Is there any diet in the world that can make me HOP out of bed in the morning?  LOL  Jim and I are spending the weekend at my place, which should help me stay on track through the weekend, and I'm looking forward to week 3 of sending my food logs to you.  I hope you have a wonderful evening and weekend, talk w/you soon.

Katy

Hi Katy,
I am sooooo sorry I am getting back to you so late in the day. I had a full day of clients.
Sooooooo, here is what I offer to my clients when they feel they might not be ready yet to go without sending  food logs to me for guidance and accountability and feedback (there are many clients who feel the same way you do, please know that it is wonderful that you can be so honest with yourself and know that you will be ready to go on your own but that is only when you are ready.) You can sign up to send me another month of food logs.  I encourage you to do this only if you feel the need to, also knowing that after one month you may feel secure with eating healthy and clean, knowing when to have treats and how it works into your life. You are NOT alone in this feeling. As I said many of my clients continue the food logs until they are ready on their own.
I am soooooooo happy to hear about your blood sugar levels being so even and calm!!!! That is music to my ears!!!! What a great feeling. You must be so happy and proud. Yippy yahoooooo...
As for the breakfast of cottage cheese and clementines, as long as you have a full cup of the cottage cheese with the fruit, you should be good. What I want you to do is pay attention to how you feel with that breakfast compared to the other breakfast. If you notice you are more hungry or tired during the day or hungrier at night, it all comes down to the breakfast. If the cottage cheese is not as satisfying or satiating, please go back to the other breakfast.
I LOVE that you had me in your head and had the small dinner. You rock!!
Also, if I could create a breakfast to make ME jump out of bed in the morning, I would be a rich woman!!! I HATE waking up to an alarm and always have, so, I think, for me, I just know that is how is goes and cherish the days I get to sleep in. So, to answer your question, I do not have the magic breakfast to make us hop out of bed like little bunnies!!!
Have a fabulous weekend with Jim. Keep up the amazing work with the eating, DRINKING WATER, and exercise. AMEN!!!
Deborah

MEMORIAL DAY MONDAY POST (ON TUESDAY!!!) IS YOUR COPING MECHANISM FOOD OR ALCOHOL? JACKIE'S FOOD LOG AND THE BEST QUOTE ABOUT COPING MECHANISMS

“A long time ago, when you were a wee thing, you learned something, some way to cope, something that, if you did it, would help you survive. It wasn't the healthiest thing, it wasn't gonna get you free, but it was gonna keep you alive. You learned it, at five or six, and it worked, it *did* help you survive. You carried it with you all your life, used it whenever you needed it. It got you out--out of your assbackwards town, away from an abuser, out of range of your mother's un-love. Or whatever. It worked for you. You're still here now partly because of this thing that you learned. The thing is, though, at some point you stopped needing it. At some point, you got far enough away, surrounded yourself with people who love you. You survived. And because you survived, you now had a shot at more than just staying alive. You had a shot now at getting free. But that thing that you learned when you were five was not then and is not now designed to help you be free. It is designed only to help you survive. And, in fact, it keeps you from being free. You need to figure out what this thing is and work your ass off to un-learn it. Because the things we learn to do to survive at all costs are not the things that will help us get FREE. Getting free is a whole different journey altogether.” 

― Mia McKenzie, The Summer We Got Free

Deborah,

Slightly falling apart, just a lot of stressors right now.

Tues morning started good, I got up at 6am, took the dog for a walk, then went to gym to do 45 min of cardio and back exercises. I would like to do this every morning. The main issue is I need to go To bed around 10pm, and with my schedule, I can't usually go to sleep till 11/11:30pm.

8am- shake

11am- crackers, hummus, turkey

1pm- chili, brown rice

4pm- watermelon, pistachios

7:30pm- chicken, broccoli. Gin and tonic. Piece of chocolate.

Tues was pretty good, minus drink and chocolate.

Wed

8:30am- Ezekiel bread with PB and Deb Approved TJ jam

12pm- went to lunch with my

Business partner, had tempura shrimp and veggies, and half order of pad Thai

7pm- dinner at a work event. Couple pieces of salami, foccacia, carrots with dressing for appetizers. Dinner was Italian salad, chicken, cold pasta salad and a roll. Had 2 glasses of wine.

Thurs

Had to get up at 6am today cause had I leave for warehouse at 7am so no workout.

7:30am- Ezekiel bread with PB and jam

10:30am- other half of my pad Thai

1pm- crackers, hummus, turkey

4:00pm- pistachios

5:30-7:30pm- networking event. 2 glasses wine. Some bread with cheese and salami.

Came home upset- my mom was crying on the phone for 30 min and then had several work issues driving me crazy. 

8:30pm- edamame with soy sauce- 2 gin and tonics

Should have ended there

9:30pm- pasta with my homemade sauce, 2 more gin and tonics

:(

Going to bed now so I don't eat anymore, and hoping to get up tomorrow to work out. Sorry I was not great.

Jackie

Jackie,

You never have to say you are sorry for your behavior. I am never going to judge you and I am always going to understand what is happening. You eat unhealthy food and drink alcohol  as a coping mechanism and as the quote above says, there is a reason. And I get it and am here to work through these issues and keep you aware and open to change when you are ready. Just keep writing to me and let me know what you are eating and how you are feeling. Hugs!!!

Deborah

Deborah,

 Thanks for checking in. Just in a depressed rut. Family issues again- my dad admitted to there being someone else, my mom overdosed on meds and booze and went back to the hospital. My dad left today, and I'm trying to help my mom come up with plan B. Sucks. I've not been good, turning towards wine instead of the treadmill to deal with it. 
Jackie.

Jackie,

I have a request, PLEASE read this over and over and use food, alcohol, work, whatever it is as the coping mechanism. I am not sure if it is just that I, myself,  am ready to hear it, or that reading this was so spot on for me that it has changed my life and the way I am viewing myself. I hope it helps you and if not now, when you are ready. I love you and send you warm hugs...:)

Deborah

"A long time ago, when you were a wee thing, you learned something, some way to cope, something that, if you did it, would help you survive. It wasn’t the healthiest thing, it wasn’t gonna get you free, but it was gonna keep you alive. You learned it, at five or six, and it worked, it *did* help you survive. You carried it with you all your life, used it whenever you needed it. It got you out–out of your assbackwards town, away from an abuser, out of range of your mother’s un-love. Or whatever. It worked for you. You’re still here now partly because of this thing that you learned. The thing is, though, at some point you stopped needing it. At some point, you got far enough away, surrounded yourself with people who love you. You survived. And because you survived, you now had a shot at more than just staying alive. You had a shot now at getting free. But that thing that you learned when you were five was not then and is not now designed to help you be free. It is designed only to help you survive. And, in fact, it keeps you from being free. You need to figure out what this thing is and work your ass off to un-learn it. Because the things we learn to do to survive at all costs are not the things that will help us get FREE. Getting free is a whole different journey altogether."

― Mia McKenzie, The Summer We Got Free

WOMEN, DO YOU KNOW WHAT IT MEANS WHEN YOU SAY, "MY METABOLISM IS SLOWING DOWN AS I AGE AND THAT IS WHY I AM GAINING WEIGHT.?"

Over the years, I heard many women say that their metabolism slowed down or just stopped working and they gained a lot of weight. I remember saying to myself, "I am going to find out why this happens and what it means and if I can, I will fight back at it." After doing a lot of research and right before my  40th birthday ( I will be 51 in July,) I read  the best and most helpful  piece of information on fighting the battle of peri-menopause/menopause weight gain.  If only our doctors/obgyn's explained it this way when we were young, growing girls. I bet there would be so many more women doing the work to build lean muscle and not just giving up on fighting back against weight gain. When I actually understood the process of WHY lean muscle is so important to women and why we need to strength train (other than just to support our bones, which is very important, too) it changed my life and my body. 

I have always worked out but I was doing much more cardio than strength training. Because I had been strength training for years along with the cardio, I was ahead of the game but realized that I needed to change my focus. I got a heart rate monitor, ate more lean protein  and started concentrating on building more lean muscle in order to  burn my fat. This is the golden ticket to burning fat as we age. Most of us hear that it is our metabolism that slows down and we just gain weight. What does THAT mean? If I heard that I just needed to start strength training to build muscle because muscle burns our fat, which helps us stay fit,  that would have made more sense. And it would tell me that there is something I can do to fight this process of gaining excess weight as I get older instead of just giving up.

 Now, is it easy? No. Does it take time and effort. Yes. Do you need to find a personal trainer or another person that knows the correct way of strength training. Yes. But it is worth all the effort. Every women should have this information given to her when she is a teenager and reminded of it throughout her life. Having the information is crucial, what you do with it is up to that individual. But if we do not have it explained this way, women think they just have to give into saying, "well, it is my metabolism slowing down and that is why I am gaining weight and I cannot do anything about it. "  No, you are losing muscle and you need muscle to burn your fat, so start strength training and you can turn your body into a fat burning machine. And the younger you start strength training, the more muscle you will have when you get older and the more fat you will burn.

We (women) lose muscle very fast as we get older. Muscle is where fat is burned. If we have lean  muscle mass on our bodies,  our bodies burn fat in the muscle all day long. And if we do not build and grow and maintain muscle as we grow older, there is nowhere for the fat to be burned and it just stays and sits on our bodies.

Start young, start in your middle age, start older, it can be done, but do it. It is what keeps the fat burning. It is what fights AGAINST menopause weight gain. If you catch it BEFORE it happens you will have a fat burning machine built into your body. I explain this to all my young female clients.  If our doctors/obgyn's, teachers, parents, personal trainers, etc. explained it this way, don't you think most women would want to build muscle and not be scared of strength training? 

ARE YOU LOW-ENERGY OR ARE YOU TIRED? HOW MY CLIENT HELPED ME SEE THE DIFFERENCE

Ellen,

Yes...you had a very busy and emotional weekend full of activities and not a lot of time for yourself. So, I totally understand the exhaustion  and empty fridge. 

Yes, your food was very good yesterday and I LOVE hearing that your energy was good but that you were also  tired. It is great that you can feel the difference between being very low energy from food vs. life. When we started working together , I am not sure that you even knew what that meant or that you understood what that felt like. Think about that for a minute. YOU changed your lifestyle/food/exercise so much for the better that you now have the ability to feel/see/understand that you can be tired from life but that because you are taking care of yourself and fueling your body with nutrients and fueling correctly by eating at the right times and eating the right foods you have ENERGY. And having energy is different from being tired. And the big lesson to learn and "get' is that when life is stressful or full of activities that make us TIRED , if we make sure to  have ENERGY from fueling correctly and exercising, life is so much easier to handle and we can get through those TIRED patches so much better, mentally/emotionally/physically

 I do have to say "thank you" to YOU because as I write this, I realize I never actually saw it this way. Tired and energy as two different states of being/feeling/understanding. We have the ability to make sure we have energy by controlling our fuel/eating correctly  but we do not always have the ability to control life/stress/activities. And this is another very important reason to fuel the body and mind correctly with the right nutrients: to aide life stress, to counter-act life exhaustion , to balance out the demands of life that drain our minds and bodies. Learning what we have control of and how to use that to make life's demands easier to handle will make our lives better and help us succeed in work/relationships/self-improvement/exercise  and so much more. You rock!!!! Again, thank you for all that I am learning from you in your journey.

Deborah

HERE IS THE FOOD LOG I RECEIVED FROM ELLEN BEFORE I WROTE MY REPLY EMAIL:

Deborah,

Wasn't hungry at home this morning and didn't make smoothie. So, part of having a busy weekend is that I did not make it to the store. I am out of bananas and so is the cafeteria. They are also out of Naked juice! Gah! I became too dependent! 

7:30 Coffee

8:30 Two Ezekiel raisin toast with peanut butter

1:00 Amy's Low Sodium Black Bean Enchiladas with Greek yogurt and an avocado. Apple sauce. 

5:30 Lara bar (peanut butter) 

Went for a 3 mile walk with a friend

8:00 Peach. Hard boiled egg. Hummus and cherry tomatoes. Cauliflower rice with olive oil and grilled chicken. A couple of strawberries. 

Really tired. Good energy day from food, but just tired from weekend and life in general. :)

Ellen

MONDAY MORNING POST: DO YOU SELF-SABATOGE WITH FOOD AND ALCOHOL?-AN EMAIL EXCHANGE THAT YOU CAN RELATE TO...

Dear Followers,
I am posting my response to Jackie's email first,  so that you can read her food logs and comments with a new perspective on how to deal with food and alcohol self-sabotage.

Jackie,

Oh my darling!!! The ole' question of self-sabotage...I know it well!!!

Here is what you can concentrate on...how horrible you felt...and how you do not want to feel so awful  again. The more you have these self- sabotage-attacks...the more it will become less attractive. Meaning...you have to get to the point where the good feeling outweighs the bad feeling. Keep on track with the good eating long enough...and the bad eating will stop before you even start because you will have trauma recall of the heartburn and guilt and feeling awful. I LOVE that you found Instacart...I am going to check it out...it sounds great. And planning ahead is perfect. Have you looked at the menus for when you go out of town? Checking out menus ahead of time of places you will be eating is a great way to be prepared. It helps to go in with a plan. If you already know what you can order, once you are there you can focus on the company of friends and not stress over making food  choices in the moment. Think about the holidays, make sure you do not fall into a trap of holiday eating for the whole month. Choose the days that you will enjoy the food and drinks but make sure it is limited. The problem becomes when you tell yourself that the holiday eating/drinking is from Thanksgiving until New Year's Eve!!! I recommend knowing you will eat and be merry on Thanksgiving day, Christmas Day and New Year's Eve OR Day.  Let's plan this out together and make sure you feel good about your choices!!!

Deborah

Deborah,

I  Should preface the weekend…it was a very social weekend, which lead to very bad weekend, and I felt awful and horrible heart burn on Saturday, but kept going on a binge bad eating session. Friday night had friends over for birthday dinner celebration, Saturday we met up Nick's sisters for a dinner and walking to zoo lights. Never would have made the workout Friday, I was supposed to leave the warehouse by 3pm, didn't leave till almost 5pm, and as a result I was running around like a crazy person and dinner was late.

Friday-

8:30am- Deb's oatmeal

1pm- pizza with prosciutto and basil- they had personal pizzas and I ate the whole thing :(

4pm- peanut butter cookie Lara bar

8pm- appetizers- crackers with salami and boursin cheese :(

9pm- beef mexicano (like beef stew, cooked in casserole dish in oven for 3 hours with onions, tomatoes, 1TBSP jam, honey, and chutney), mashed potatoes (mixed with smart balance butter, light cream cheese with chives, Canadian bacon, sprinkled shredded cheese.

Slice chocolate cake. This evening had 2-3 gin and tonics, 3 glasses red wine.

Woke up Sat. morning not feeling great, heartburn, felt gross. So started morning off good with food and gym, then spiraled downhill again.

Saturday-

11am- 2 slices Ezekiel bread with turkey and 2 over easy eggs, guac and salsa on top

2-3pm- went to gym…glimpse of a good part on a bad day

3pm- coffee with skim milk and truvia

4pm- left over beef mexicano with mashed potatoes- BAD MOVE

6pm- 5 pastor tacos from big star (pork, onion, pineapple, and cilantro on corn tortilla). 3 skinny girl margaritas- REALLY BAD MOVE

7-9pm- spiced cider with rum, 3 cupcakes :( - SUPER BAD MOVE

Sat. I felt bad, but then I ate a bunch of crap again. Sat. night I felt so bad I was taking acid reducers, but still felt like crap up until I went to bed. Only redeeming part about this day, other than gym, was I walked 25,000 steps (my goal each day is 10,000), which was about 12 miles.

Sunday-

Woke up this morning feeling good, no heartburn. Having shake for breakfast, and I think I will have one for lunch. Going to do a Deb  cleanse!

This morning I also placed an order on Instacart (like Peapod, but goes to Whole Foods, Mariano's, and Costco). Ordered food for the week that is all Deb approved. I am going to make home made turkey chili for the week as well to replace the canned stuff I was eating.

Hoping this week is better, I want to get back on track, I don't know why I keep sabotaging myself.

Jackie

MONDAY MORNING POST: CLIENT PICTURES---"DEB APPROVED" BABIES AND "DEB APPROVED" FOOD

Look at that incredible little girl and that face!!! Her mom and dad are Betty and Rob who wrote the testimonial on my blog. I worked with them about 7 years ago when I lived in LA. This is what I received Friday morning in Chicago, from them in LA,  in my FB messages. This is the meaning of life and my career...having my "students" send me pictures of their new families, eating "Deb Approved" foods and showing me that I am still a voice in their head for healthy eating. My heart is so full, thank you, Betty and Rob. Here is their message: "Good morning, Deb! This is our daughter, Emme, enjoying a Deb classic and "Deb Approved"  Ezekiel English Muffin with almond butter, banana and cinnamon! Hope you're well!❤️" caption

Food Print for Life "Deb Approved" muffins. Cacao and regular. Egg whites, flax seed, applesauce, cacao powder, small amount of almond milk. Full of protein and Omega 3s, fiber and antioxidants. They are moist and very satisfying.

Thank you to my client, Mike, for making my Friday morning when he sent me this picture of his healthy, "Deb Approved" breakfast. Egg whites, avocado, spinach and Ezekiel Toast...perfect!!!!

My new Food Print for Life "Deb Approved" whole eggs, flax-seed, sea salt and almond milk muffins. I made twelve to have at work for a protein/omega3/fiber filled snack...easy to eat and very filling and satiating. Who ate the 12th muffin???

Thank you, Jenny, for this great idea.  "Bread" the chicken with chickpea crumbles (only chickpeas) add spices and bake (she recommended a whole chicken breast next time.) And her lentil, tabbouleh salad with Israeli spices. "Deb Approved" and yummy!!!!


DO YOU HAVE PICTURES OF YOUR "DEB APPROVED" FOOD? I WOULD LOVE TO POST IT ON MY BLOG. AND IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE RECIPES, PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT. THANK YOU, AGAIN, TO ALL MY WONDERFUL PARTICIPANTS AND FOLLOWERS. YOU ALL MAKE ME SO HAPPY AND PROUD.

I'M DEPRESSED, NOT LAZY