Diana Fletcher

Go Back and Take the Right Path

Posted on 28. Jan, 2010 by Diana in Coaching, Health, Life Choices

How has January gone for you?

Did you make any new changes in your life?

Did you make resolutions? Did you keep them?

I would like you to take a few minutes to review your month.

Think about what you wanted to accomplish and
review how you did.

If you had some problems, experienced set backs, or are feeling worn out and tired, I would like you to think about something….

Maybe you chose the more difficult path.And maybe you did that because you truly wanted to make changes, and you wanted them FAST!

I think this is the mistake we often make. We want the quick fix, the immediate result, the change to come…painlessly.

It doesn’t work that way, but that isn’t all bad. When you take your time and build new habits, slowly and surely, those are the habits that will stay with you, and that’s how you can change your life.

Choose the path where you make changes gradually and build those changes into your life.

Think about this: If you made one healthy change a week, in one year, you will have made 52 changes.

52 Changes!!! Think about that.

And they don’t even have to be huge! Here are some examples….

1st week, drink a big glass of water every morning.
2nd week, a ten minute walk every day.
3rd week, go to bed 15 minutes earlier.
4th week, one piece of fruit, no matter what, every day.
5th week, add vegetables, each and every day.

Do you get the idea?

Gradually, the extra weight comes off, and stays off.

Little by little, you get used to drinking water and realize that you feel better.

Step by step, you start getting more sleep and get more done in the morning.

All of sudden you notice, you are looking forward to your ten minute walk, and you add 5 more minutes a day.

It starts with little changes and they lead to bigger and bigger changes, and then…Presto! You are where you want to be.

The days, the weeks, and the months will pass anyway.

Each day, do something good for yourself. Stop making it a big deal and start noticing the little things.

If you have been on the harder path, go back, and take the other path.
The one that will truly get you where you want to go.

I have something exciting coming up in February that will help you with this. Taking the right path for you, learning how to take care of yourself…I have many wonderful things to share with you.
Hint: Check out the FREE teleclasses.

Meanwhile, be good to yourself.

If you need to start over, start over.

But do not, I repeat, do not beat yourself up about this.

Gently take yourself by the hand, and start down the right path for you.
It’s not too late to change paths. Really.

Reading Product Labels:Information from Laura Crooks, Wellness Coach

Posted on 01. Jan, 2010 by Diana in Uncategorized

I want to share this article because Laura makes some fantastic points about misleading food labels and gives great information about how to read them properly.

There will be many people trying to get their eating and weight under control right now–that is probably the most popular New Year’s Resolution…right?

This information could help you and make you a little more aware of what you are eating. Pay attention! That’s what is it truly about!

Misleading and Confusing Food Labels by Laura Crooks

In our quest to eat healthier foods and take care of our bodies we might rely on food packaging labels. This can be dangerous to our health and undermine our efforts thanks to unregulated and misleading food labels. The labels can be misleading, confusing, and pose as healthy food imposters.

Food packaging labels are created by companies whose sole purpose is to entice us to buy their product. Their misleading information implies we are getting health benefits that may not exist. They may print unsubstantiated health claims, or use pictures of desirable foods to make us think that is what is in the box, or they use cleverly crafted phrases which are not lies, but are also not as honest as they seem at face value. We are led to believe that fruit snacks are real fruit; they may have a bit of real fruit juice in them, but they are candy. Frozen dinners with real vegetables may have a bit of powdered vegetable in the sauce, generally not what we think of from the packaging.

Each company can create their own seal of approval or they may purchase the right to use one.

Here are some common food labels and what they mean (or don’t mean!):

100% organic is a USDA regulated term. The farmer must pay to have the government inspect and certify their farm. These foods are grown without pesticides or chemical fertilizers, without hormones or antibiotics, are not cloned or genetically modified.(Remember that smaller farms may follow sustainable, 100% organic procedures but not pay the large assessment fees to be able to label as 100% organic.) Organic means that 95% of the ingredients are 100% organic.

Made with organic ingredients means that at least 70% of the ingredients are 100% organic. all natural – This label means that the product is free of preservatives and additives. It does not mean that the product is good for you or healthy. Arsenic and lead are all natural, but we try not to eat much of them! low fat – This label means there is less fat than in the regular version. It does not specify how much less fat, nor does it necessarily mean lower calorie. Low fat products often have more sugar, added to boost the flavor removed with the fat.

good source of calcium – This means there is at least 10% of your suggested amount of calcium present. Is 10% enough for you to consider it “good”?

carb free – This means the product has no carbohydrates present. I have seen this label on fresh meat; the meat is protein, it never was a carbohydrate product, but the label catches our eye.

made with – This label is often followed by something healthy such as real fruit or whole grains, such as “made with real fruit”. The label itself only means there is at least a drop of the named product present.

0 trans fats – This label is tricky, it does not mean there are NO trans fat in the product. It can be legally used provided there is less than 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving. The company only has to adjust their serving size to one with less than 0.5 grams to meet this labeling requirement. If you eat more than one serving you are adding up your amount of trans fats. If fully or partially hydrogenated vegetable oil are in the ingredient list the product has trans fats present.

cage free (usually referring to eggs or chickens) – This means the chickens were raised indoors but not in cages. Forced molting and beak cutting are allowed.

free range – This term makes you think the chickens get to roam outside all day in green pastures. It means the chickens are allowed access to the outside but there is not regulation on the duration of outdoor time nor the quality of their outdoor space. They could have spent a total of 5 minutes outside in dust. Beak cutting and forced molting are allowed.

humanely raised – This is a totally unregulated term and can mean whatever the manufacturer wants it to mean. They would like you to picture a clean, healthy living environment!

100% wheat – Your squishy white bread is 100% wheat…it is totally refined wheat flour. Look for 100% whole wheat for the more nutritious type. If the ingredient label does not say 100% whole wheat as 1 of the first ingredients consider it to be refined white flour with some caramel coloring added to make it look brown.

less sodium – This means the product now has less sodium than it once did. It does not mean it is low in sodium or good for you.

wholesome, nutritious, selected, and country fresh – These claims have no regulated meaning and can almost anything the manufacturer wants.

So how should we make informed choices?

Check the product’s serving size. Is that small bag of microwave popcorn a single serving or intended to serve 3? The calories and fats need to be tripled when you eat the whole bag intended for 3. How many servings are in that 24 ounce soda?

Check the nutrient labels. Each serving should provide less than 5% of sodium and saturated fats, regardless of the label saying it is reduced fat or has less sodium. Aim for more fiber per serving and less sugars.

Read the ingredient labels. Ingredients are listed in descending order; the first item listed is the most prevalent. Ingredient lists may not use the most common term for each item. For example, sugar can be found as: agave nectar, beet sugar, brown sugar, cane juice crystals, corn syrup, corn sweetener, dextrose, evaporated cane juice, fructose, fruit juice concentrate, glucose, high fructose corn syrup, honey, invert sugar, malt syrup, maltose, molasses, raw sugar, sugar (sucrose), sorghum syrup, turbinado sugar.

Reading product labels with our eyes open to the fact that manufacturers are more concerned with us spending our money than with our health may help you see some of their labeling for what it is. Look for these labels in the store and read the fine print on the package. Reading ingredient lists and nutrient information may help you make better nutrition decisions as well.

Some of the most nutritious and healthiest foods do not come with labels. Have you ever noticed how fresh, whole fruits, vegetables, and meats do not have pictures or labels? Make the wisest, healthiest decisions you can.

About Laura Crooks: I am an RN, speaker, and certified wellness coach living in Pittsburgh, PA with my husband and children (plus the bunnies, leopard gecko, and hamster!). I help busy women create solutions so they can enjoy reduced stress, losing weight, balancing personal-professional-family time, and making time to exercise. My services include individual and group coaching, speaking, and wellness programs. For more information please visit www.YouBloomWellness.com .

Obesity, Irony, and Addiction

Posted on 02. Aug, 2009 by Diana in Coaching, Health

Oh, the irony. Today’s Pittsburgh Post Gazette: Front page—huge article entitled, “Obesity costs emerge as a major concern” and tucked within the usual assortment of ads, one page jumps out at me: The McDonald’s ad featuring pictures of huge burgers, shakes, some sort of coffee drink and some frosted other thing that I cannot really describe except as a sweet, fat-filled yucky thing people pretend is breakfast or a “coffee break” snack.

Oh, and, how nice of them—coupons for buy one, get one free, and the announcement that many McDonald’s are open 24 hours. You mean we can get all this at anytime? Cool!

I do not eat at fast food places. I do not know what some of these things are. I am a vegetarian, so I am unclear on a couple of these items. I do know this, however: These foods are made with fat, salt and sugar and to the people who eat them, they all taste really, really good. They do. People like them because they taste good.

There are a lot of people who are addicted because of the taste, the ease of getting their fix, and the prevalence and acceptance of these “food” items in our society. It isn’t just McDonald’s, of course.

It is the food industry. To quote Arun Grupa, editor of the Indypendent newspaper in New York City (www.indypendent.org), in his article entitled, “The Bacon Bomb”, “…The entire food industry has refined the science of processing the cheap commodities pumped out by agribusiness into addictive foods that represent far more than sustenance.”

According to David Kessler in “The End of Overeating,” the food industry has honed in on the ‘three points of the compass’— fat, salt, and sugar.

So I look at this ad, shake my head, and I do feel sad for the addicts. This is serious addiction.

I feel a lot of sympathy for people and that is one of the main reasons I became a Life Coach who specializes in Stress Reduction and Health Issues.

Some of these people have come to me for help in my coaching business. Many people share stories with me about problems with their health, and I truly feel bad for people. I try to help them to see how they can make different choices in their daily lives.

I have different feelings sometimes, too. Anger. I feel angry that people choose to live in a way that harms them and harms their children. These choices put a limit on how happy and healthy they can be.

They choose these limits. We all choose our addictions, and this addiction is no different than addictions to alcohol, drugs, or gambling. It is sneaky and sordid and ultimately, life threatening.

I feel especially sad and angry about the children. This is a sore point for me. I want to help adults, and I do, but I am hoping that by helping them, they in turn will help their children.

These are some of the quotes from the article written by Ed Blazina of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, Sunday, August 2nd, 2009:

• “The issues converged last week when a national study estimated the cost of obesity at $147 billion annually, nearly double what it was 10 years ago.”

• “‘If obesity was an infectious disease, it would be an epidemic,’ said Dr. Daniel Bessesen, professor of medicine at the University of Colorado at Denver and chief of endocrinology at the Denver Health Medical Center.”

• “The CDC estimates nearly 40 percent of American adults are considered obese based on their body mass index….That extra weight frequently leads to additional health problems such as heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and pulmonary difficulties.”

• “Kathleen Sebelius, U.S. Health & Human Services secretary told the conference [Inaugural Weight of the Nation conference], she’s particularly concerned about obese children. Statistics compiled by the CDC show that 25 percent of obese children stay obese as adults and have a raft of serious health problems. ‘If there was an epidemic of little kids getting cancer, it would be a national crisis,” Ms. Sebelius said. “But because it’s obesity and the damage doesn’t come until later in life, we’ve been slow to act. We can’t ignore this problem any longer.”

So, here’s the thing. How do you break an addiction?

1. Recognize that it is a problem. Own the problem. Do not blame it on anyone or anything else. State out loud that you make the choices that got you into trouble.

2. Write down what you want your life to look like. Really think about how you would like it to be.

3. Get help. There are support groups for every addiction, including Overeating. Ask friends for help, go to your church, and look online for groups that can support you. Hire help if you can afford it: A counselor, a coach, etc. Many insurance plans will cover some of this, but there is help out there for free if you look.

4. Take one day at a time. You didn’t get to this point overnight. It will take awhile to change your habits.

5. Change your lifestyle. Look at how you are doing things. Look at who you spend time with and what you spend your time doing.You can change, and it will take work, but it is worth it.

This is an addiction.

This is your life.

I am not trivializing addiction or obesity related problems.

This is serious.

This is important.

How good do you want your life to be?

If You Want to Change, You May Have to Deal With Discomfort!

Posted on 11. Jun, 2009 by Diana in Uncategorized

We know this on one level, yet deep down inside, we hope that it isn’t true.  This is why the diet ads, the diet pills, the “magic” exercise machines sell. We want to change–we just don’t want to feel uncomfortable while we are changing!

I love the ads that say, “eat whatever you want and lose weight!”  What the what?

That doesn’t even make sense! Were people always like this? Did people always want the easy way?

I am not saying that everything has to be difficult. I often think we make things harder than they have to be, but we also want things to be really, really, easy, or we give up.

I think it comes down to this–no one wants to be uncomfortable.  We want the perfect temperature, the perfect weather, the perfect relationship, the perfect friendship, and it just isn’t always possible.

Sometimes life is uncomfortable. Sometimes, even the people we love can make us uncomfortable.

Our lives can sometimes get complicated and uncomfortable.

And change, or the attempt to change, makes us really, really uncomfortable.

I often warn people who are trying to make healthy changes that this could be very uncomfortable. Whether the change is to build a routine of exercise into their lives, to change their eating habits, or to reduce their stress, it can feel very awkward.  And not just for them–for the people around them, too.

It is important to keep focused on what you want in the long run.  If you keep that picture in front of you, of what you want your life to look like, what you yourself want to look like, you can weather the discomfort.

In the case of Stress Reduction, a technique may be to make a list of the goals: Better sleep, sharper thinking, more calmness, less colds, better relationships, clearer skin, and a happier life.

For weight loss, displaying pictures of the look you want to have, or the clothes you want to wear, can be extremely helpful.

For someone trying to build exercise into their life, a calendar or chart to track their progress with stars can be a really fun visual to use. Signing up for a race whether it is a walking, running or biking race, can help keep the goal in mind.

If you can visualize where you want to be, when the changes feel uncomfortable, you can remind yourself of the reason you are making the changes.  You need to keep the end goal in sight.

Other people can be very uncomfortable when we make changes. There are a lot of reasons for this.

It is sometimes threatening in some way, there may be jealousy, or it may put them out and change their schedule. Again, you need to keep the end game in sight.

If you are making changes that will make you happier, better your life and your health, and you are not hurting anyone, you have to keep going. No matter who is uncomfortable!

Diets Don't Work!

Posted on 12. Sep, 2008 by Diana in Coaching, Health

First of all I don’t think diets work.  You are setting yourself up for disaster when you settle on an eating plan that limits the kinds of foods you can eat to only a few categories.

Eating should be fun and nourishing and not boring.  That being said, we do have to control ourselves sometimes with the amounts, and the foods we eat.  We cannot eat everything we want to, but there are ways of working fun stuff into a healthy diet.

Being realistic is how you will lose weight, and how you will maintain a healthy weight for life.

We know we have to eat less, and exercise more.  That’s a fact.  We know we have to limit our amounts sometimes, but we need to realize that it is ok to have treats once in awhile, and here’s the important point–truly enjoy the treats!

I believe that we can eat foods we like within moderation and teach ourselves the habit of eating healthy foods.  We can develop the habit just like any other habit, of choosing healthier alternatives, cutting down on portions, and limiting sweets and treats to a couple times a week.

When you allow yourself to enjoy some treats, you eliminate the certainty that it is just a matter of time before you binge.

I work with clients on this stuff all the time, and it works.  Being realistic, watching portions, planning ahead for special treats—these are some of the ways that you will never have to diet again!