Women, Food and God

Let me start off by saying that I never watch an Oprah show while it's airing at 4pm. I had turned the tv on this afternoon to make sure Sarah's House on HGTV was going to be recorded this Saturday via my  DVR. When the tv came on Oprah's show had begun and it really intrigued me. She had a special Author guest Geneen Roth with a wonderful new book.

I believe that this book has the ability to single handedly change the mindset that a lot of women are experiencing as it pertains to weight. Whether it's a battle with 100lbs or 10lbs, it's not the food that is the problem. It goes much deeper than that. You may have heard that concept before but I believe this book is dramatically different. Despite this post's title which is actually Geneen's book title, the book doesn't focus on God in the religious way that you might think. It is all about our inner longing for something greater, in causes us to look into our past to better understand how we can move forward and love ourselves as women, and so much more.

While doing the interview, Oprah was brought to tears because after many years of struggling with her weight and not really knowing what the deeper issue was, she was finally able to have one of her famous 'aha' moments and did not hold back from sharing it with the women of the world. She was able to pinpoint the exact time and belief from her childhood that she has channeled and let hold her back, it has prevented her from becoming the very best self that she has always dreamed of. Once again, just one reason why I view Oprah as the classy woman that she truly is. She doesn't proclaim to be perfect, with all of the world's celebration of her and her life achievements, even she was stumped as to what was holding her back from loving herself completely for so many yeas and from losing weight for good. That was until she read this book.

All of us as women want to be and feel beautiful, lovely, loved, desired, important, special, meaningful and the best version of ourselves. It's been a harder road for some than others. Many don't love themselves or see theselves as the beautiful women that they truly are because of a number on a scale or the size of their thighs. What's worse is that many women have passed on the same self-loathing to their daughters (and in some cases their sons too) without even realizing it. While it's true that father's play an important role and this can be passed down from them, it is generally women that are guilty of beating themselves up on an almost daily basis in the pursuit of achieving their ideal image of beautiful and thin in their mind.

The biggest message in this book is about loving yourself and kindness. Be kind to yourself. Look into your soul and feel who you truly are, not your mistakes, past disappointments or failures. One of the deep messages in this book was about feeling. We've all heard about how many alcoholics or drug addicts numb the pain of their current situation or past with these bandaids. Have you thought about your relationship with food? Many eat because they are bored, overwhelmed, in pain or worse-want to prevent actually feeling any pain at all. The feelings and pain that aren't experienced get buried for a while but actually double as the food attempts to cover it all up. Then not only is pain felt but so is dissatisfaction with one's self.

On a personal note, while I can't personally attest to having had a lifelong battle with weight or food; I will say that I have fallen into the category of eating when bored, overwhelmed or diving into a chocolate bar to temporarily de-stress from a crazy day. Like most women I have beaten myself up about a few pounds here or there from time to time. In my early twenties I did some modeling, an industry notorious for telling women that they are not good enough, thin enough for runway, not edgy enough for editorials, not pretty enough for commercial shoots, etc. During those three years I experienced a lot of highs and lows after every go see, audition and job. In some ways it changed the way I saw myself at that time.  While the photo shoots were a lot of fun and the money was really lucrative at times, I chose to move on and leave that world behind which I knew was in my best interest. Since I had started later in life, I was at least wise enough to know what was good for me and healthy and what just contributed negatively in some ways to my life.

If you get a chance to watch the later airing tonight of this show "Why Oprah says she'll Never Diet Again!", I highly encourage you to watch it or program it into your DVR. That link includes the page on Oprah's site which provides more information. Here is the link to the book, at just $12.99 on amazon I think it is a great investment that every woman struggling in this area should consider buying for themselves or even their daughters.

The purpose of life it to grow, love, renew ourselves and completely understand all that we were intended to be.

Have you read this book? What things have you learned about yourself in life over the years that have made you the woman you are today. Anonymous comments are always welcome. :)

Be well.

xo



P.S. Don't forget to enter our $50 Stationery Giveaway from Pear Tree Greetings!

Foods That Make You Feel FULL

With so many women making fresh commitments to their health for 2010 in both healthy eating and exercise, I thought I'd share some snacks that will help you feel full between meals. As a former personal trainer, I've tested these out and know that they contain solid nutrients, protein, proper carbohydrates and essential fats.


Maybe it's the growling in your stomach or a 3pm afternoon craving that has you searching for a snack between meals, whatever the case, you'll want to focus on eating foods that make you feel full but are healthy too.Too many people eat sugar and carbohydrates all day and wonder why they constantly feel hungry. Your body needs a nice even balance of essential fats, protein and carbohydrates. If you overindulge in one and forget about the others, your body will let you know!

The first step is to make sure you are eating properly during mealtimes. If you are eating a lot of grains like white pasta and rice- or worse, mostly sugar like candy bars, chips and soda, but no form of protein, you will constantly feel the need to eat, which brings about the need for multiple snacks. The best thing to do is ensure that at each meal you are eating protein, carbs and fat. An example might be toast with peanut butter and a piece of fruit like a bananas or a small bowl of berries. The fat and protein are contained in the peanut butter but the toast and banana will give you some sugars for energy too. Lunch might consist of salmon over a salad with several veggies and a light dressing. Dinner could be a chicken breast with asparagus drizzled with a bit of olive oil and some wholegrain rice.

Once you've balanced out your meals (and likely made them healthier at the same time) then you'll need to know what to eat during snack times. It has been proven several times over that eating 5-6 smaller meals are far more effective at both keeping you feeling full longer and losing weight as well as speeding up your metabolism, than eating only 2-3 larger meals all day long. Plan to eat smaller meals and incorporate the following as snacks in between major meals and once after dinner. Chances are if you eat a really early dinner, say before 6pm, and you stay up late, you'll be very hungry by about 8pm. Try some of the following ideas as substitutes for your regular choices.

12 Healthy, Balanced, Filling Snacks

1. Slice up a whole apple (add some cinnamon if you like) and spread with low-fat plain cream cheese or peanut butter or you can add a couple thin cheddar cheese slices. The protein and fat in the cheese coupled with the fiber in the apple will help keep you feel full. You know what the say-an apple a day...

2. A handful (about 15 pieces) of nuts such as almonds, walnuts or pecans are best.

3. Bananas are perfect, they contain both potassium and magnesium which play vitally important roles in: nerve transmission; protein and carbohydrate metabolism; muscle contraction; and in maintaining cellular integrity and water balance.

4. Whole Wheat crackers with low fat cheese or cream cheese spread

5. Whole Wheat pita bread wedges with hummus

6. Homemade granola with shredded coconut, dried cranberries, raisins, and an assortment of nuts. (You'll need only a small handful only or a 1/4 cup to measure)

7. A yogurt cup of whole yogurt like plain low-fat Greek yogurt (not sugar free which is full of toxic aspartame) which is very high in protein, with some fresh berries mixed in such as strawberries, raspberries or blueberries.

8. An egg is a great snack. You can make a batch of hardboiled eggs ahead of time and eat one with a little pepper, ketchup or salsa and add some crackers or a small piece of toast.

9. A protein smoothie is one of the most fun snacks, you'll need a blender or hand blender to mix the ingredients. Add some frozen fruit, a bit of yogurt, some soy, almond or cow's milk and you can also add a scoop of whey, soy or vegetarian protein powder to ensure you'll get enough protein.

10. Cottage cheese can be added to both sweet and savory foods. Eat ½ cup inside half of a cantaloupe or add some fresh berries instead. If you like savory, add some tuna.

11. Veggie sticks and a healthy dip like tuna mixed with ½ cup of cream cheese, you can add some minced onion and chopped parsley to taste. Chili sauce can be added and blended in the food processor and stored for an easy-to-grab snack.

12. Wasa bread or whole wheat crackers with thin slices of Swiss and a bit of ham for a ham and cheese fix.

Remember to eat the proper portion sizes, crackers and cheese are a yummy snack, so it would be easy to get carried away to the point of it being a dinner size portion. You can solve this by ensuring that all of your snacks are around the 200-250 calorie range. Just measure it out according to the serving size and avoid adding extra fats, salt, artificial sweeteners or sugar.

I hope this has inspired you to try some new snacks that are not only healthier for you but will truly fill the hunger gap between meals. I encourage you to look online for new and interesting snacks that can easily be made ahead of time and brought in reusable containers with you to work or on the road, which is when we're all most susceptible to choosing the wrong snacks. Also, by keeping hydrated you'll feel full and it will help increase your metabolism. You can add in the healthy amount of water in cups (which is your weight in pounds divided by 14).


One of my newest favorite snacks is from Celebrity Personal Trainer Harley Pasternak, and can be found HERE.

If you have a favorite healthy snack, leave a comment and share it with everyone.


Happy Snacking!