Posts Tagged ‘fat’
I may be a bit of a nerd, but I am fascinated with the brain and the way neurotransmitters (NTs for short) effect -and are affected!- by our behavior. The idea that we can change our brain chemical layout is pretty amazing.
The article below talks about what serotonin, dopamine, and other NT’s do during eating disorders, but also about what we can do to re-route them into better behavior. What’s even cooler is that by changing these behaviors, we can actually alter the levels of the NTs in our brain.
Read it here:
http://www.eatingdisorder-institute.com/?tag=neurotransmitters
Pizza Pizza
Posted on: September 30, 2012
- In: Conditioning | Health Psychology | Nutrition | Psychology | Raw Food | Recipes
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According to my Pizza Facts Google search, October is pizza month. So we have a new habit to conquer: STOP EATING PIZZA
I’m just kidding.
If there is a food you absolutely positively will NOT give up- like pizza- then don’t. In the same realm as the rest of this blog: you can’t beat it, make it better.
There are 3 things modern food companies know they can hook us on: sugar, salt, and fat. But pizza itself is not an unhealthy food. It is the stigma of chain restaurants that are giving it a bad rep, adding chemical preservatives, spiking salt and sugar content, using all white flour dough, and feeding you cheap, fatty cheese. Salt and fat, highly preserved and delivered in under an hour. Appetizing?
There are plenty of healthier alternatives:
1. Make it yourself
Making foods from scratch can be rewarding and informative. You know exactly what foods are going in. Seeing the ingredients in their cold state can make you acknowledge exactly what you’re eating- and appreciate it when meal time comes. If you put all the effort in, you won’t want to swallow it down like you might if the delivery boy simply handed it over. (And you could always get in some body-weight exercises while it’s in the oven).
English muffin mini pizzas, bagel pizza, and pita pizzas are smaller-serving alternatives that might satisfy your tomatoey-cheesy-carby craving. You can add plenty of fibrous veggies, like broccoli and zucchini, stack on hearty olives and artichokes, or add flavorful colored peppers. For lean protein to fill you up, add chopped chicken.
Check out whole wheat pita pizza recipes: http://www.wholeliving.com/130959/pita-pizza
2. The thinner the better
If you must go for the boxed version, go for thin crust. Just changing the crust can save you over 100 calories per serving. Save the extra carbs for your side of veggies.
3. Load it with veggies
1. As a topping- Saute’ up some veggies (peppers, onions, artichokes, mushrooms, olives, diced tomatoes, broccoli, spinach) and add them on. Adds vitamins, antioxidants, flavor, and a fill-factor that will allow you to stop when you’re full.
2. As a side- Don’t trust yourself to just eat pizza. We are a society trained to say “pizza and breadsticks,” so make sure you have healthy sides to compliment your new healthy pizza. Pepper slices, carrots, and grapes will compliment the hot pizza with a cold crunch and leave you satisfied and guilt-free.
There are so many alternatives- Greek, Tomato-Basil-Mozzarella, Chipotle chicken– pizza CAN be a healthy meal with the right tweaks. Challenge yourself to try nutrition-loaded versions that supplement your health.
Even the word “darkness” can invoke a twinge of unease that we may not be conscious of. Yet we all have what some writers have coined a “shadow self.” The great thing is, when you shed light on the aspects of yourself that bring you guilt, shame, embarassment, or anger, you have conquered them. Simply by awareness, you can bring yourself freedom.
Today’s practice:
Listen intently to things you don’t want to hear.
You may do this by:
Paying attention to ideas and concepts of yourself that you shy away from
Paying attention to things that offend or disgust you
Not shying away from things that disgust you
Writing a list of words you can’t stand and reading it
Listening to people you consider annoying, irritating
Acknowledging some of your bad habits e.g. I am a smoker, I am overweight, I can’t control my eating (but remember to please do this with AWARENESS and peace, not judgement- judgment will force you to become defensive or shy away from admitting these things to yourself.)
Sit with these words, concepts, or feelings for a while today.
Feel the sensations of anger or discomfort. When you feel the urge to “turn away” – whether that is in your head or actually with your head- don’t. Be conscious of the tightness in your body. Your throat, your back, and your shoulders may get tight and tingly. The point here is to allow the feelings to come over you, become aware of them, and let them be.
The Payoff: Freedom
You will feel a sense of lightness from becoming aware of the subtle negative energy that has been captured in the things you reject. Pushing them away and denying their existence hinders your growth process. When you bring them to light, you are bringing them to you, accepting them as part of what made you who you are.
More importantly, you are opening up to your excuses. When you are aware of what’s holding you back instead of turning away from it, you are able to make the changes that will lead to the person you know you could be.
The Problem With Cheat Meals
Posted on: September 17, 2012
The body can be either like a well trained puppy or a defiant, mischievous child.
Choose your highest vision of yourself, and train it well.
Chances are you have conditioned your body to expect you to allow it some pretty unhealthy behaviors. If so, chances are even higher that those behaviors don’t exactly line up with your ideal vision of yourself. Just as a dog expects a treat after a walk, for example, your body is obedient. It remembers how you have treated it, not only in physical manifestation (i.e. excess fat is there to pop out and say, “I remember how you ate!”) but also in neural connections (i.e. false hunger cravings, like, “after dinner, we want dessert.”). Now, get ready for the big stick of responsibility here — you taught it that. I promise you, after a vitamin-efficient serving of vegetables, your body doesn’t want white sugar-laden dairy lard. That isn’t a natural response.
Have you ever seen comics about training a dog? The one where it says, Week 1: Dog is not allowed in bedroom or kitchen, and Week 5 ends with the dog eating at the table and sleeping on your pillow? That is precisely what happens with your body. Letting it do something sporadically is confusing. Saying you want sexy abs and those little back dimples is contradicted when you allow the behavior of fiending on “just one (aka 3)” pastries at work. All your actions- no “little” exceptions- should line up with your declared goals.
But.. I DESERVE it, don’t I?
Ah, I knew he’d come out. Let me introduce you to your inner child. No, not the playful, reminiscent, joyous, lighthearted child. THIS child is not our friend. I call mine “The Brat.” My Inner Brat does not want me to be the epitome of health and fitness that I want to see myself as . The inner brat wants me to stuff my face with sugar, fat, and simple carbohydrates despite not being hungry and having no nutritional value. My inner brat did not want see me conquer emotional eating. It likes you when you are not at your highest potential because it gets what it wants. It wants to keep you the way you are so it can keep complaining, stay undisciplined, and never reach your goals. It is essentially the way your ego self-handicaps you from becoming the real you. Your body will go along with him at first, mimicking him by sending you false hunger symptoms. But it quite literally is all in your head, in your neural connections that you have solidified by giving in to The Brat. If you sit silently and listen deeper than the whining of your brat, you will realize your body sits quietly and needs nothing.
The best way to approach this is by patting the little brat on the head, taking reigns and realize YOU know what’s best for yourself, just as a parent knows what’s best for its child. A parent wouldn’t let a child run out into the street– why would you let your Brat decide the fate of your health? Your body is the victim here. Your body knows when it is being neglected, mistreated, or judged unfairly. Love it, and show it you care for it by making fit, clean decisions.
Giving in “once in a while” to habits that go against your goals sets your mind-body connection to random. Aligning your behavior patterns with your highest goals in mind sets you up for success. Aligning your actions with your best self is the simplest way to health- and your best you.
Take Home Practices:
“Am I doing this to cope with something emotionally?” or “Is it my body that wants this, or is my inner brat just used to getting it? Does it make me closer to my goals?”
“What are the excuses I’m telling myself right now?”
My favorite: “What would my ideal self do right now?” (e.g. “What would my personal trainer self do?” “What would my health guru self do?”)
Suggested Reading:
“How Successful People Think” – John C. Maxwell
“Reinventing the Body, Resurrecting the Soul” – Deepak Chopra
Headstrong Health: The Psychology of Getting Fit 