How to Set Ourselves Up for Success When Losing after 50

If I’m out-and-about I always, always, always take smart food in my purse or tote.

Pearl One

Even as a teen I could see that the women’s magazines often had, say, a gorgeous photo of strawberry cheesecake with recipe just a few pages from “Lose Ten in Ten!”

And today it’s no different.

We might hear from our doctor that we need to lose 40, but on the drive home we’ll also pass a gazillion fast food drive-thrus, a million restaurants, gas station mini-marts also packed in junk food, even libraries with a vending machine (the only place I can think of that doesn’t push food is the dog park).

I’m big on acknowledging what is. While I don’t blame anyone for my extra pounds, I know – beyond a doubt – that you and I eat better today than any culture in human history.

Learning how to manage our hunger and navigate the “food terrain” as we go about our day is critical. If we’re out in the world without easy access to something healthy to tide us over, we will find something to eat that would never be called smart food. I mean, who stops at the gas station mini-mart for a banana?

We can’t legislate bans on fast food. But once we fully understand that our culture does not support us at reaching – and maintaining — our preferred weight, only then can we move forward stronger and wiser about how to successfully create a smart eating lifestyle.

The convenient mini-marts, the Burger Kings, the Cheesecake Factories and so forth are only around to make money. ♥

Pearl Two

We have so many new people – and welcome!! – so I’m using this pearl to revisit Aunt Bea. Plus I’ve added new material.

If you didn’t receive your Aunt Bea, just email me: Wendy@TheInspiredEater.com.

Today I’m focusing on Aunt Bea’s Tool Twelve.

The Secret Sauce: Preparation

We’ve been on this planet long enough to know: Life is hard. And staying trim is super-duper hard in our culture packed in calories.

That said, take the 66 days required (according to my favorite ’09 study out of England) to establish a solid habit by embedding the shifts below into your daily. A sure way to set ourselves up for failure is to try to embed too many habits at once. Take it slow.

When eating in a restaurant, I never eat a full plate. (Only the really high-end restaurants serve small dishes). When the server brings your dish automatically ask for a to-go carrier so that you can put half of the plate of food away immediately. (Remember out-of-sight, out-of-mind is a phenomenal tool.)

I never eat hungry because I always “eat before I eat.” Always. Eating before eating usually means that I have my daily oatmeal bowl (an hour in advance), a scrambled egg, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on whole wheat (easy on the peanut butter and jelly) or in dire circumstances I’ll eat a teaspoon of peanut butter right out of the jar. (Small amounts of peanut butter are my go-to.)

I know this sounds like a downer, but I always read nutrition labels these days. Why? Because I’ve noticed that the more educated I get about a particular junk food, the less likely I’ll be to chow with abandon. I once read the nutrition label on Oreos and learned that a serving (three) has 160 calories, nine grams of fat, and 14 grams of sugar. And, really, who eats only three?

It took hard work and time, but I developed the habit of not eating after 6 p.m. (6:30 at the latest). I’m not a hard-core intermittent faster because my “fasting” time isn’t that high. I don’t eat for 14 hours (mostly while sleeping) and I do eat for ten. I think intermittent fasting has been an awesome way for so many to reduce calories, so please don’t get me wrong. I love IF. But in my experience I’ve found that if I stop eating around 6:00 p.m., I stay at my preferred weight.

To this day, I don’t leave my house without my cold bag filled with two or three of the following: petite carrots, sliced cucumber, cherry tomatoes, maybe yogurt, a hard-boiled egg and you get the gist. The bag goes into my car and I snack as I do errands or wait too long at a medical or hair appointment. This way, I stave off hunger and increase my vegetable intake while driving. Win-win. (I eat carefully to avoid any chance of choking.)

I cook foods in advance. I make a vegetarian chili on the weekends and leave it in the fridge for later in the week (I love cold food). I also nuke polenta that I add to my salads (in log form found at Trader Joe’s). And I hard-boil eggs every Sunday so I have something easy to grab during the week. Put it this way: if you’re not prepping food daily, you’re not losing weight. Prepping is that important. ♥

Pearl Three

Thinking Big. It’s entirely human to assume that thinking big also means that the big thing is not coming at Amazon speed.

Even though logically I know that Amazon won’t deliver whatever big thing I’m shooting for quickly, I often hope (secretly) that maybe something magical will happen that’ll bring my big thing to me right away.

But instead of hoping for magic, I’m much more successful when I see a new habit formation to be similar to creating a beautiful garden. For example we know that tending a garden:

• requires time (we learn what’ll flower and/or produce in which season).
• allows for mistakes (oh, no, the deer ate all the grapes?! Time to figure out a way to get my fair share next year).
• needs specific “tools” (the right soil, amount of sunlight, and fertilizer for the plant. Not to mention water).
• calls for regular care (as in weeding and pruning).

I’m journal-writing about how to tend my smart eating lifestyle “garden.” How do I respect the necessary time involved? How do I handle “mistakes?” Am I cruel and disgusted with myself? Or do I have a “lessons learned” thought process? Hint: you want the latter. Do I keep my “tools” on hand (a kitchen stocked in smart foods)? How do I take care of myself (however that factors into your life: some like a beautiful manicure; others a clean car)? ♥

Pearl Four

First, a caveat. You guys know, but I need to say: I’m not a nutritionist, dietician or medical doctor. Talk with your own general practitioner before using any of my ideas.

Back to the show.

I once watched a friend nuke a Trader Joe’s bag of (snap) green beans. After nuking she opened the bag and added a light sprinkling of salt before eating the crunchy beans with fingers straight from the bag.

Watching, my eyes grew wide. Are we allowed to do that? Actually use salt?! (I’d been eating bland food for years.)

Pam’s light sprinkle of salt was my first introduction to the very idea that I could make healthy food a bit tastier (I’ve learned that cooking without salt, but then adding a sprinkle right before eating delivers the most flavor). Again, check with your GP before using salt.

A round of applause to Pam because these days I’m always on the lookout for ways to make food more fun. Here’s a sample of how I jazz up my food today:

• I add sliced olives and a heavy sprinkle of crushed red pepper to my Lean Cuisine cheese pizza. Ups the flavor.
• I often top my first cup of coffee in the morning with whipped cream Starbucks style. Silly, but fun.
• Dill and feta cheese. If you haven’t yet tried this taste combo, let me just say: yum!! Years ago I followed a recipe that called for pasta, veggies, feta cheese, and dill. And awesome news: there are a ton of pasta substitutes that are healthier than white pasta like whole wheat pasta, squash noodles (that a friend swears by) or Zucchini Noodles (Zoodles).
• If I don’t have leafy greens in the fridge, I make a salad with petite carrots, cucumber and cherry tomatoes. To add a touch of flavor I put a tablespoon of ranch dressing onto my veggie plate and I lightly — very lightly — touch a veggie to the ranch. I end up with a blob of ranch on the plate. That’s how lightly I use the ranch. It’s like a spice, not a dip or full-on dressing.

I’d love to hear in the comments below. How do you infuse flavor into your smart eating day? ♥

Pearl Five

“Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together.” – Vincent Van Gogh ♥

I’m spending the weekend doing a bunch of small, but significant things! Running my sweet dog, River; vacuuming; and cleaning the bathroom. And reading. Lots and lots of reading! Need a great book? These are my favorites.

Have a wonderful weekend! Again if you haven’t received Aunt Bea please let me know and I’ll get it right to you. My email: Wendy@TheInspiredEater.com.

♥, Wendy

P.s. Are you new to the Inspired Eater? Welcome!! This blog won’t make much sense until you first read the Aunt Bea post (and you’ll find Aunt Bea on this page to the right under my short bio). After you enter your email address, the Aunt Bea article will be sent to your email’s inbox. If it’s not there, you might check the spam folder. And always feel free to email me at Wendy@TheInspiredEater.com and I’ll get Aunt Bea right to you!

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I am not an expert, a doctor, a surgeon, a nurse or a nutritionist: the information within TheInspiredEater.com is based solely on my personal experience and is not intended to be used as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. ♥