PEERtrainer

Diversify Your Sources Of Calcium

Before I start today's tip, I want to state that the subject of dairy for some reason is wildly controversial. The pro-dairy forces have us convinced that we will fall apart without massive consumption of milk and cheese each day. And the anti-dairy forces consider it poison.

Like any controversial issue, I am not even going to touch this one! But I do think it is really important to work to get as much calcium as possible from non-dairy sources each day.

Here is my reasoning- foods high in calcium tend to be the green stuff that is proven to have massive, overwhelming health benefits. And the stats show that is is hard for us to eat a lot of greens each day, but easy to consume dairy.

Let me try and walk you through this idea!

One cup of milk has a little more than 200mg of calcium in it. Two cups of cooked broccoli has a little less than 200mg of calcium in it. One cup of collard greens has about 350mg of calcium. A cup of chick peas/garbonzo beans has about 150mg of calcium. Two cups of sweet potato has about 150mg.

Now the idea here is not to get you to eat less dairy (but most experts say go for the low fat stuff.) But the idea is to get you to eat more of the greens. My thought here is that by focusing on including greens in your daily calcium intake you provide yourself with another incentive, another reason. 

And one of the main building blocks we try and teach is to constantly find the "reason" to do things. Makes us more likely to do it! Dr. Joel Fuhrman goes into this issue in depth on pages 173-179 in his nutrition manual Eat For Health. Readers of me might note that I reference him a lot, and that is true. We are always looking for new material and the latest research, so if there is something that might interest me, please let me know.

Update:

 

The New PEERtrainer Guide To Hunger Free Weight Loss has many recipe ideas that will help you get more vegetable based calcium in your diet. Ideas that are designed to be Easy, Tasty, Healthy and Cheap!!!

 

Great Advice From A 72 Year Old Man On Losing Weight

I just got this great email and I wanted to share it with you all:

Dear Jackie:

Thanks for creating this unique and beneficial website. I enjoy 
reading your postings and am a listener to your recently-launched
telephone conversations. I'm 72 years old, male, and a third of the 
way through a long-term (4 months) commitment to lose 15 lbs through a 
diet and exercise program of my own devising. PEERtrainer helps.

Dieting is tough, as you well know. It demands equal measures of 
patience, persistence, and common sense. There are dietary 
requirements (nutrition, portion size, frequency of meals) and 
exercise requirements ( cardio and weight training, stretching). 
Nothing can be rushed, and expectations must be kept in check. 
Plateaus are common and seem to last forever. Yet gradually, a pound 
at a time, interim goals will be met and written logs will confirm 
incremental gains in physical conditioning. I have more to say about 
goals below.

What motivated me to lose weight (this time: I've been here before) 
was disgust at the sight of the stranger looking back at me from 
behind the mirror of my medicine cabinet, and a desire to be healthy 
enough to enjoy the remaining decades of my life. My poor habits are 
changing. I'm paying attention to (but not obsessing over) the amount 
and quality of the food I eat and exercising 4-5 days a week. I've 
fought off discouragement after stepping on the scale and discovering 
to my horror that I'd gained a pound since the last weigh-in, and I've 
stopped weighing myself every day. To date, I've dropped 5 pounds.

Thursday night, you said that goal-setting is an important component 
of any successful weight-loss program, citing the example of fitting 
again into a favorite pair of jeans. I agree that goals are 
important , and the everyday example you offered was one we can all 
easily relate to. However, the reading I've done on the subject over 
the years has taught me that the "rewards" associated with dieting 
successfully and maintaining a healthy lifestyle are huge. In the 
context of the service that PEERtrainer is providing, it seems to me 
that "goals" and "rewards" are almost interchangeable.

My list of goals/rewards includes "lowers," lessers," "betters" and 
"greaters." Examples:

  lower body fat percentage, cholesterol, blood pressure, and resting 
heart rate;
  less physical pain and emotional anxiety  
  better breathing, skin tone, and sleeping: and
  greater concentration, flexibility, balance, confidence, strength and 
endurance, libido, and patience.

The beauty part of these improvements is that they all flow naturally 
from eating well, exercising regularly, and keeping one's weight 
down. One needn't concentrate on them; they just happen.

Curried Pumpkin Ginger Soup Recipe!

I have this recipe from my mother in law who is truly an exquisite chef.  Born in New Delhi, trained in France, she is highly skilled at taking whatever is in the house and making it gourmet.   Can an amateur cook like me pull it off?  She seems to think so. 

Here's the recipe:
Nani's (should be Dadi but the children got confused with "daddy")
Curried Pumpkin Ginger Soup.

2 tablespoons butter or olive oil
2 cups finely chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
I small boiled peeled potato cubed
1 1/2 tablespoons peeled fresh ginger, minced
1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 tablespoon curry powder
3/4 teaspoon ground red pepper (cayenne), or to taste
2 15-ounce cans solid-pack pumpkin
6 cups water or milk
1 1/2 cups good-quality vegetable broth or chicken broth
1 14-ounce can unsweetened coconut milk or pint of half and half
Juice of half a lemon
Salt to taste.

1. In a large soup pot, heat butter or olive oil over moderate heat and add onions. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic,  ginger and potato, continue cooking for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add spices and puree in a blender or food processor with a little of the broth and return to the soup pot..

2. Add salt, pumpkin, water, broth, and coconut milk, stirring to combine and simmer gently, uncovered, about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3.  Serve immediately, or refrigerate, covered, for 1 day. Reheat when ready to serve.

Squeeze some lemon juice and garnish with chopped cilantro, or thinly slivered fresh ginger. Yummy!

serves 10 -12

If you make it, let me know!  Jackie

How To Make Vegetables Taste Good: How Even The Ones You Don't Like Can Taste Extraordinary

The title of this post should read, "How to Make Vegetables You Don't Like Taste Extraordinary without Butter and Cheese but that was too long.  Butter and Cheese make everything taste extraordinary.  The real challenge is how to make green beans taste good without it.

I was with a friend of mine the other day and she mentioned that her two boys ate an entire plate of green beans. I can't even eat an entire plate of green beans, no matter how good they are for you.  I don't like the taste.  

Then, as I was eating dinner with her family, I watched exactly what she did: She placed a bowl of soy sauce next to the plate for one son and a small bowl of freshly squeezed lemon for the other.  Brilliant. 

She chose the condiment that they loved the most and her boys, with their new "finger" food, started dipping away.  I had never thought of it.  I've always dipped fresh broccoli in mustard; it tastes like you're eating hot dogs.  It does!  Try it and let me know if you agree.  The trouble with mustard is that my daughter still likes it, but when my 5 year old decided that he didn't like mustard, there went my vegetable strategy.  

My friend Laurie helped me rediscover all the ways that you can make food you don't love, taste like food you can love. Since I'm no different than my children, this was a great realization for me - what other condiments do I like so I can eat green beans and like them?  I thought I'd list a few here to give us all some ideas:

- Low sodium soy sauce with wasabi:  I happen to love this stuff in my sushi, but I haven't tried it on it's own.  If you're allergic to wheat, stay away.  My friend's 7 year old loves it.

- Ketchup: They have organic ketchup now, heinz makes it without the corn syrup.  Warning - it doesn't taste as good but if you're children don't know the difference yet, it might be perfect.

- Mustard - my favorite standby:  There are so many varieties now that you can most likely find one you like.  I love the standard Dijon but honey mustard might be a great dip.

- Chutney: my friend used to be addicted to this stuff.  It is an acquired taste.

- Salsa - You can get some great tomatoes and just great taste in general.  There are also some mild kinds without all the onions and peppers for the children.

- Fresh squeezed lemon and wasabi: my husband has a wheat allergy so he invented this.  It tastes amazing and really "fresh". 

- Mashed up avocado with lemon: takes a little more preparation but kids usually love avocado and you're getting a huge extra dose of vitamin C.  If you have an extra 5 minutes, it's totally worth it. 

- Lemon/mustard/garlic dressing: again, takes a little extra time so this isn't necessarily the best standby but you might want to try it when you're having a big sit down dinner.

- Strawberry with soy milk: mix it up in the blender and make sure you use frozen strawberries.  It becomes a strawberry sauce and it's excellent with fruit.

If you have any, please add them! (Here's what other people are doing)  I'm on my way to buy wasabi....

We also have a nice discussion going in our community on how to make vegetables for people who just don't like them. Lots of very practical suggestions there.

March 1, 2011 Update: We probably need to drop the low sodium soy sauce suggestion here, or change it to a wheat free option. Since I wrote this I have discovered that many people will benefit from a serious reduction in wheat in their diets. In fact, all gluten products are on the right side of the new PEERtrainer Cheat System. If you have not yet downloaded your free copy, you can still do so here.

For the guys: Amazing Stories Behind Liquor's Legends:Jim, Jack, Captain

We put them in our cocktails, but how well do we know them? Here's some biographical detail on the men behind your favorite tipples

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How I Became A Hot Chocolate Pusher

A few weeks ago, I stopped at Starbucks and saw an advertisement for their new Signature Hot Chocolate.  The ads were so inviting and so nicely designed that I felt compelled to just try it.  It was cold outside, I was on the low end of my "weight range" and I thought, oh, what could it hurt and it will taste soooo good.  Well I was definitely right about part of my thesis - it tasted sooooo good.  Beyond soooo good.  It is a truly extraordinary invention.

That one choice, that one minute when I made the decision to just try it that day, turned into 3 days in a row.  I got so into them that by the next week, on my way to a playdate with my son's friends,  I mentioned that I would be a few minutes late, I had to stop for a Signature Hot Chocolate.   One of the other moms replied with "Hey, are those good?  I'll have one too."  About 4 days later, one mom pulled me aside and said, "Jackie, I can't get into my jeans.   I am up to 3 salted caramel signature hot chocolates a day.  And while I'm telling you this,  I think I'm going out to get another one."  The next day, a few other mothers were also talking about the new habit I had introduced and how good those hot chocolates are.  They started comparing the hazelnut to the salted caramel and I was jokingly called a hot chocolate pusher.  ME!!  I couldn't believe it.  One little choice, less than a minute choice, led to a 3 week hot chocolate habit and had also led many other people down that same road.

Then I thought this:  I only get one a day, but I wonder what's in those things? It was one of the first times that I can remember that I didn't bother to think about what might be in it before I bought it,   I just wanted it.  I had guessed that it was about 150 calories and 3 weight watchers points but then when I actually took a moment and thought about it, I realized they probably made it with whole milk to make it taste that good and added whatever makes it "signature" and uh oh, it's got to be more than 150 calories.  When I asked,  I found out that it was a pre-made mix with non-fat milk and a grande was 380 calories and 7 weight watchers points!   I have since see 470 calories in other places which would be 9 ww points but I'm thinking that is with the whipped cream.  I got my info directly from the starbucks employee.  I was dumbfounded.  And pretty upset.  How could I have not even asked?? After the shock, I was completely over it.  Maybe not for good, but as a daily habit.  The knowledge about what it was, what was in it and how many calories it had was enough for me.  I haven't ordered one since (it's been about a week now). 

The learning here?  The moment I discovered what was actually in it, it became effortless to give up.  Look at the labels and if there aren't labels or nutrition facts,  just ask.  That little petite scone might be just as satisfying as the grande hot chocolate was and it would have been 280 calories less.  A decision that took 10 seconds to make can snowball into an extra 2800 calories a week, and not just for one week, but for three weeks! Mine did.  This time of year is crucial - with the holidays and parties and family get -togethers, the mine fields are everywhere.  Next time a 10 second decision presents itself, just think, do I potentially want an extra 3000 calories this week?

I **&#(*ing Hate Weight Watchers!

I was on the phone yesterday with an old friend, talking about our Holiday Weight Loss Boot Camp (it's free by the way if you'd like to sign up please email me) and I briefly mentioned weight watchers and suddenly, my friend blurted out  I #**%*ing hate weight watchers! Then she said, I just have to say it, I have to be honest and tell you I hate it!  Then she paused and said, you must hear this all the time.

I thought about her question.  I actually don't hear it all the time and I happen to be a fan of Weight watchers in combination with other diets (you can read more about it here).  I said, you know, I don't hear it all the time but I'm curious, why do you hate it?  What bothers you so much about it?

She answered this: it's almost a compulsory thing - everyone at work does it so we have weekly meetings at work and we all go together.  Now if I had to do that, reveal my true struggles in front of the same people that I need to work with and assign tasks to every day, I would hate it too!  Sure, maybe it's a potential bonding experience, but I'd rather connect over a cup of tea with people I work with than my setbacks with my weight.  It's embarrassing and it's also very private, for me anyway.

It got me thinking - how is she going to be committed to her weight loss goals when she "hates" the environment that has been created around that commitment?  It's another road block, and potentially a road block that will send you off in the other direction.  Do you have a similar experience?  Are you trying to lose weight with things that you believe "should" be right for you but aren't?  Are you committing to running three times a week because you know running only requires running shoes but you absolutely hate running?  It shouldn't all be easy, but it might be easier to find something that you can live with, maybe even like when it comes to something as disciplined as your goals of losing weight. 

There are so many tools and methods out there to help you that you shouldn't have to settle.  Find things to surround yourself in your weight loss efforts that will help you - people, places, foods that you like and are good for you.  The positive surroundings will help you get the positive results.

Stop Beating Yourself Up

I have a friend who has lost at least 15 pounds over the last few months and she looks great. She carries herself differently with a confidence I haven't seen in a long time, she has more energy and she can wear jeans she hasn't worn in over 5 years. 

But instead of being psyched about it, she kept talking about how her family is coming into town next week for thanksgiving and she's still heavier than she's ever been.   She really wanted to lose at least 10 more pounds prior to their visit and she couldn't stop beating herself up about it.

I think we've all experienced this - you have made some progress, you're feeling better and probably looking better than you have in a very long time but you're down on yourself for a variety of reasons.  Most of those reasons aren't rooted in reality but it doesn't matter - the rules you've set up for yourself haven't been met.

I'm here to say this: take today, even just one moment today to just Stop It.  Stop being pissed off at yourself that you only worked out once this week instead of 3 times.  Stop being down on yourself for not running a marathon by the age of 25. 

Stop berating yourself for having way too many slices of pizza last night when you promised yourself that you would not have it, no matter what.  Today, focus on what you have done over the last month that has been positive.  Spend a moment to write down some of the good habits you've developed, no matter how small and insignificant they seem. 

Did you cut down from 2 cups of coffee to one cup of coffee? Did you order a salad at lunch yesterday when it could have just as easily been a plate of wings?  Did you run around at the mall instead of sitting on the couch with a movie? 

All of the small, good habits that you've started to incorporate into your life should be celebrated as accomplishments. You don't just go out and run a marathon one week after you've decided to run one.  You build up to it. You run a mile a few times a week, then a couple of miles in the next weeks, then you build up to long runs on the weekend. 

When you stop beating yourself up you will start to focus on the small, good habits that you've started to build upon. You will see that they will all be your "one" mile runs that will help you accomplish the Long Term Goal "the marathon".

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Take A Walk - Even 5 Minutes Of Walking Can Have Tremendous Benefits

I just posted to my PEERtrainer log and unfortunately, I had to write in my workout section "no tennis today :( ".  With work and children obligations, I'm just not going to be able to carve out an hour.  I was feeling sort of bummed, but then I remembered my old standby, taking a walk.

Walking is easy to fit in, no matter what.  It's hard to find an excuse not to take a 5 minute walk.  If you live in the city, it's almost built in to your day automatically but if not, it's still one of the easiest activities to fit into any schedule. 

Dr. Andrew Weil talks about walking and the actual movement of your arms swaying in an opposite way, back and forth as having amazing health benefits.  If you're having trouble starting out on your regimen or if you just need to destress, be alone with your thoughts to do some thinking, solve a problem, there is nothing like a walk to get your mind in a different space to come up with new thoughts and a new sense of renewal.  If you live in the city, your walk can be as simple as walking right past your apartment to the next neighborhood.  (by the way, 20 blocks equal a mile, an avenue is about 1 and a 1/2 blocks, as a general rule).

If you live in the suburbs, take a walk right outside your door or outside of your office.  The parks usually have beautiful walking paths and they can be more convenient than you ever imagined.  Local high schools have tracks and usually lots of regulars that can motivate you and get you going.

You don't have to walk for an hour to feel a sense of accomplishment.  Even 5 minutes a day is the start of a great habit that will have tremendous health benefits down the road. 

So I will be walking at lunch today, no matter what!  Feel free to check into my log today and hold me to it!  We have lots of walking groups on PEERtrainer, click here to find one and just type "walk" in the search window. 

Now That I Have Learned The Weight Watchers Points System, What Are Some Other Good Ideas?

I was asked this question by a guy who emailed me yesterday. He thanked me for turning him on to Weight Watchers and wanted some more advice. I told him that there would be more tips coming each day and try and stay patient.

But I also wrote him this: (I try to get back to as many people as I can)

"WW points is a great building block, and you will learn more each day. Eat For Health is another core building block we advocate.

Too often people fall into this diet trap where they do only ONE thing. They are on WW, on South Beach, this or that. They think that if they are one thing it is to the exclusion of other approaches.

The reality is that there are great things to learn all over the place. Weight Watchers teaches you portion control, and the system brilliantly incentivizes you to consume fiber rich foods. Which are plants!

Eat For Health by Joel Fuhrman is something we relentlessly advocate. It is not just another diet book. It is literally a manual, a textbook for how to eat. It is something to keep as a reference manual, no matter what approach you take.

It is not an all or nothing approach, it is simply a page by page education on what to eat, what not to eat and why you should or should not eat something.

A lot of the other building blocks are mental. A lot of this is repetition and reinforcement. Hence the daily emails.

A lot of it is very personal, and we try to help you find your "one thing."

The idea here is to keep learning new things, staying focused each day. It is the opposite of high pressure "Biggest Loser" type of things. Gradual, step by step, there is no failure. Just continual daily progress towards all sorts of great things."

Interesting New Groups and Teams

Every now and then I try and highlight some new groups and teams. Teams have unlimited members, and groups are limited to 4. However, public group members are dropped automatically after a week of inactivity. This keeps the small groups full of active members.

New Teams:

Desperate Housewives, Abilene Edition

This is a place for women in the Abilene, Texas area to get together and support each other in our weight loss journey...

Weight Watchers Active Team

Weight Watchers groups are always popular on PT and get big quickly. So from time to time new ones need to get started.

Active Accountants

If you are crunching numbers all day, this is your place.

Eating In The Light Of The Moon

Have you read "Eating in the Light of the Moon" by Anita Johnston? This book uses imagery and storytelling to explain and rewrite food relationships and women. If you have read this book, I would love to discuss how this book changed your thinking in this team.

Christian Women's Weight Loss Group

This is a weight loss group for Christian women over the age of 35. Makes for a nice focused and also mature group of people. 

Weight Loss Group For People Who Need To Lose 100 Pounds Or More

New Groups:

Anchorage Alaska Weight Loss

"I Am Starving"..... "I Am Always Hungry"

One of the most commonly asked questions that we get asked from Tip Of The Day subscribers is about hunger.

It doesn't matter whether you've been restricting yourself on a diet, or not even watching what you eat at all, there are times that you suddenly feel so hungry you don't even know how it hit you. 

Often you find yourself in a situation where you didn't eat a proper breakfast, or you went too late until lunch came around and the hunger hits you like a ton of bricks.  You feel like you could eat a house and if someone put a large pizza in front of you at that exact moment, you could probably scarf down 3/4 of it, maybe almost the whole thing. 

What's interesting is that Dr. Fuhrman, in his book Eat for Health, says that actual hunger is felt in your throat.  Symptoms include salivating and light interest. Actual "hunger" is when your body is ready for more nutrients.

Often that "starving" feeling are withdrawal symptoms from the caffeine, sugar or other "nutrient-poor" foods you consume. These feeling that we confuse for "real hunger" are usually felt in the stomach as growling, light headedness, little dizzy, the general sensations we feel when we say we are hungry. 

But at the time when you're "starving", the logic behind what's really going on doesn't matter. You just want food and you want it now.

When you get to this point, how do you satiate yourself without destroying all of your efforts towards your weight loss for the week?

Here are a few tips:

1.  Keep one of your favorite snacks in your purse or in your desk at all
times. 

That doesn't mean healthy if you don't like the taste.  If you throw an apple in your purse but you don't particularly love apples, when that overwhelm comes on, you will not eat that apple.  You will think you are
starving and way too "hungry" for that apple to even begin to have an effect.  You'll head to your nearest "favorite food" place that will satisfy the hunger.

Pick a snack that you really love the taste of:  maybe it's a fruit/nut power bar - maybe a banana or maybe something else.  Pick a snack that works for you, that you really like, and next time the starving feeling
comes on you'll have something right there, and once you've eaten it, the binge feeling has come and gone.

2.  Check if that hunger feeling really means you're thirsty

Most of the time when you feel hungry, you are dehydrated.  Get a large glass of water full of ice with Fresh squeezed lemon and see how you feel afterwards.

3.  If you didn't put your favorite snack in your purse?

Instead of using the starving excuse as a chance to stop at Starbucks for a large muffin, croissant and moccachino, go find your favorite snack immediately!!  Think of what you would have put in your desk or purse and simply go purchase that to eat now.

4. What if you give in anyway?

Lastly, if you are starving and you do head to the nearest pizza place and scarf down 4 times as much as you usually do, don't make it the end of the world.  Don't use that incident as the reason for saying, well, I messed up, might as well have pasta and that hot fudge sundae I've been craving as well. 

Don't stack it with all the other things you were disappointed with in yourself that day.  You were "starving", you ate a lot, and that's all it is. Commit to making just the next meal, just one meal one that follows your regimen and makes you have energy and feel great and don't look back.

How Much To Put In The Daily Tip Emails?

I am getting a ton of great feedback on the Tip Of The Day email series. People reply to the emails daily with questions. Some people want more information, some people want less. Some people don't want to click through to a longer article.

So here is what I am thinking:

1. Make sure there is a nice "nugget" in the body of the email

2. Put links to the full article in case people do want to read more

These are small adjustments and I will continually incorporate the feedback. The most important thing though is please keep asking questions. Reply to the emails.

Advice For The Guys, How To Help Your Guys

By now you have gotten a good sense that the approach we take with PEERtrainer and with this daily newsletter is very much based in the fundamentals.

 

We advocate group support, daily journaling, we think Weight Watchers is great, we tell you to use your doctor to help you, show you the power of massive fruit and veggie intake.

 

But once you know that stuff, how do you actually do this on a daily basis? How do you interact with your friends? How do you interact with your spouse or partner?

 

Today I want to talk about guy specific stuff. I have a husband and a son. I know guys are different. I don't care if that is not PC or whatever, that's just how it is.

 

One simple thing I want you to focus on (and if you are a guy do this yourself), is the tendency of guys to eat whatever is in front of them. They don't eat emotionally, they are not conflicted about it. They just eat.

 

So make this work for you. Cut up fruits and veggies and leave them out. They will get eaten. Cut up apples or pineapple and leave it in the fridge. At 2 am they will magically disappear.

 

You also want to make sure to not nag, not say anything. Don't withhold the other stuff they love. Don't force them on a health kick. Just gently ease them into grazing on the good stuff.

 

Guys hate being hungry. Make that work for you.

 

Jackie