In my experience, about 80% of people quit their diet and fitness program within the first 3 months. Of the 20% percent left, only about 5% of them will continue their program after 6 cumulative months. How will you make yourself be a part of that 5%?  Creating a SMART Health New Years Resolution in the way you would a with any business goal is one of the best tools you can give yourself if you truly want to achieve your resolution.

 

Specific

This means your goal needs to include the who, what, when, where, and how.

Example, Instead of "I will lose 15 pounds by June", it should be "I will lose 15 pounds by June by working out 5x per week through running out side and joining a yoga studio, as well as keeping my diet under 1500 calories 6 days a week."

Measurable

Establish the milestones that will measure your progress along the way and will show you when your goal has been fully achieved.  Without these, you'll certainly lose motivation before achieving your ultimate goal.

Example, To lose 15 pounds by June, I will weigh myself once a month and will have these milestones: 5 pounds lost by February, 8 cumulative pounds lost by March, 10 cumulative pounds lost by April, 12 cumulative pounds lost by May, 15 cumulative pounds lost by June!

Attainable

Understanding the attitudes, abilities, tools, and financial capacity to actually achieve your goal is integral to your success.  

Example, Losing 15 pounds in 3 months is unattainable due to my work schedule and amount of diet discipline that is maintainable for me.  I'll give myself 5 full months to lose the 15 pounds at a healthy and moderate pace that will make it easier to maintain long term.

Relevant

Your goal must be tailored to your body and health.  Remember, in order to lose just 1 pound a week, you need a caloric deficit of 500 calories per day for the entire week.  For me, 500 calories could be the equivalent to adding over an hour of jogging at a moderate pace, not adding the medium soda and bag of Doritos you added to my sandwich at lunch, an hour and a half yoga hot yoga class, or choosing the guacamole over the spinach and artichoke dip while at a bar with friends. Next time you're at the supermarket, pick up a pound of meat.  At pound is a lot of people!  Remember that as you set your goals!

Example, If you're obese, losing 15 pounds in 3 months could be realistic for you.  On the other hand if you're just slightly overweight, achieving your daily caloric deficit will be much more difficult can more realistically be met in 5 months. 

Timely

You must add urgency by adding time frame to your goal.  Without this anchor you'll never feel the daily push to work towards your goal.

Example, "I'll lose 15 pounds this year" should be grounded with a more specific time frame like "I'll lose 15 pounds by June 1st."

Don't forget the most important part when developing your goal!

Your Contingency Plan

Consider this my addition to the general SMART acronym to make it SMARTY.  So many times no one accepts upfront that they'll inevitably slip up and consider what they'll do when they do.  These slips are what turn that original 100% and widdle them down to the 5%. 

Examples, "If I go over my 1500 calories per day for 3 days in a week, I have to add a morning workout for 30 minutes to the next week."  "If I'm too busy at work to get my workout in, I'll only have a salad and lots of water for dinner."  "If I get sick, it's ok to simply rest and I'll get back on track when I'm feeling better."

 

Had you made a resolution before you read this post?  If so, do you need to add or tweak it at all now that you've read this?  Comment below!  I'd love to hear your resolutions and how you plan to tackle your foreseeable challenges ahead to achieve it.

If you need could use some additional help developing your own personalized 2012 goals and plan, don't hesitate to reach out!  Everyone (including myself!) can benefit from outside encouragement to stay on track 1, 3 or 6 months through your health resolutions.

With all of this holiday shopping, I'm finding myself battling the tempting smells of the mall food court with every shopping visit.  You can quickly find yourself in a slippery slope of with burgers, fries, lo mein, pizza, caesar salads, fried chicken and all other unhealthy options that will quickly put you hundreds of calories over your daily goal before 3pm.  But with a couple of healthy options in your back pocket, this fast food temptation doesn't have to ruin your whole week of solid discipline. So allow me to share these quick tips to conquer the dreaded mall food court:

Search for “grilled”

When you’re surrounded with tons of options and don’t know how you’ll possibly isolate the healthy options, go with the grilled chicken sandwich without any sauces, mayo, etc added.  If you hate a dry sandwich opt for mustard, a quarters worth of ketchup or bbq sauce, or my personal favorite, a touch of a salad vinaigrette.   Remember, just because the base of a sandwich or salad sounds healthy, what gets put on top of it can completely change how much calories are in it.

Health Bonus: A bare bones basic grilled chicken sandwich tends to run you around 300 to 400-ish calories.  Keep it as healthy as possible by not adding cheese, asking for an unbuttered bun, and saying no to sauces.

Bring out your inner child

If the temptation is just too much and you’re dying to splurge on a fast food favorite, I say go for it!  Just order a kids meal and you’ll automatically give yourself portion control and keep the calories from getting out of hand.  When they ask you which toy you want, just tell them to keep it for the next order :)

Health Bonus: Your kid’s meal will contain a beverage, entrée and a side.  To make your portioned option even better, try ensuring that at least one of those main components is a healthy option.  For example, trade in your soda option for a water or instead of a side of fries opt for the side salad with a
light dressing.

Avoid it all together!

Did you eat a super healthy meal before you left to try and avoid the whole food court temptation only to find yourself being drawn to the smells anyways??  Solution: pop in a piece a mint gum.  The minty fresh taste will subside your cravings while the chewing will also keep our mouth busy.

Another minty favorite cravings curber: dark chocolate dipped Altoids.  Or make yourself a yummy snack (like this low calorie one) and enjoy as you stroll through the food court with the peace of mind  that you're saving yourself hundreds of calories.

 

What's your biggest diet breaking temptation and how do you conquer it?? Comment below and let me know!

I was faced with a delicious Thai food takeout menu on Sunday.  It was full of salty, oily, and DELICIOUS options... Trying to stick to a healthy diet with this menu seemed nearly impossible when I had avoid Panang Curry that carries a whole days worth of fat in one 4 oz serving and my favorite, Drunken Noodle that has enough carries to count as 2 meals and contains a full days worth of sodium.  How can anyone get their Thai food fix without killing your whole week of healthy eating and fitness habits??

8 Tips to Create a Heathly Thai Food Takeout Meal:

1. Start with the summer rolls.  This unfried and fresh starter will help you from overeating on the four servings worth of a saucy entree you'll receive.  I'd love to recommend a soup to start, but with sodium levels of over 1,000mg, I just can't do it.
2. Avoid "crispy" and "fried" everything.  I'm sure most of you know this, but it just means fried with tons on un-heart healthy vegatable oil. Don't be fooled by "lightly fried" either... It's all the same!
3. Save curries for a homemade meal.  Regular coconut milk will add hundreds of calories to the dish plus over a full days' worth of fat.  Instead, make it yourself at home sometime with low fat coconut milk that you can get in specialty grocery stores or in the specialty food aisle.
4. Opt for Shrimp, tofu, or veggie options.  They'll save you over a hundred calories per serving. Usually even the seemingly lean meat options aren't as healthy as you'd hope because they aren't using the more expensive lean cuts.  Give tofu a try!  It soaks up all of the delicious sauces and tastes so much better then you would expect.
5. Give a Thai salad a shot. No one ever thinks of salad when you're thinking Thai food, but seriously, no Thai salad has ever dissapointed me.
6. Go spicy.  Many studies have shown that capsaicin, the component that gives chili peppers their heat, helps manage appetite and increases metabolism.  Whatever your heat tolerance may be, try to push it (try my quick low calorie recipe for Jalapeno Honey Popcorn)!
7. Portion your rice.  Just a half of a cup is over 100 calories, so put just a little on your plate (about the size of the palm of your hand) and put the rest in the frig for homemade fried rice in a couple of days.
8. Eat only one serving and put the rest away to save for another meal.  That doesn't mean serve yourself and let the containers sit on the counter... That means serve yourself, and portion the rest appropriately so there is one serving per container and pop them in the frig.  You can even label them for specific meals to help you stay away from nibbling on them for the rest of the evening.

So what did I choose Sunday night? I just couldn't go with a salad that night, so I went with shrimp sauteed in a spicy chili sauce with string beans and peppers.  It's one of the lowest calories sauces and I was certain to portion the ginormous portion they gave me to make for 2 more future meals.  Plus it was so spicy I drank 2 full glasses of water along with my portion so I didn't even have room to eat any more!

So go ahead, grab the takeout menu with the confidence that you won't gain the pound you lost last week or find yourself in a bloated food coma afterwards.  I promise... it is possible!  Have you order thai recently?  Comment below on what you ordered and how it left you feeling afterwards so we can all help each other make better ordering choices.

Until next time,

~E

Need help developing a nutrition plan? Contact me and we can develop a realistic program that will get you results!