Sometimes it seems like everything is going along fine then WHAM! everything is NOT fine.  When you get hit with something that throws you off balance and adds extra stress to your life, be it illness, illness of someone else, death of a loved one or even just adjusting to a new schedule, it can be really easy to not take care of yourself.  Easy to give into the stress of the time.  Yeah, I’ve been there.  Honestly, I’m kind of there now.

Taking care of yourself can be as simple as taking a short walk, taking a hot bath, getting enough sleep, choosing a chicken sandwich over the meatball sub, or getting your workout in even though you don’t really feel like it.  It all comes back to something I’ve talked about a lot in these newsletters – making a choice.  For me, I have an internal argument.  “You’re too stressed/tired to workout.  You’ll be fine if you miss one day.”  Then one day turns in to two, then three and I have a hard time getting back into the routine.  What I’ve started doing is countering these thoughts with more positive ones like “Working out will help relieve the stress I’m feeling.  Working out is the ONE THING I can do for me and no one else.  Not working out doesn’t do anyone any good – especially me.”  Now, there are times when sleep is more important than getting in that workout, but I’m learning to know the difference.  When it comes to food and I hear “Go ahead – you haven’t had that yummy meatball sub in AGES!” I’ve learned to counter it with “Yeah, but what does eating a meatball sub do – does it relieve my stress? Not really, if anything I’m more stressed thinking that I shouldn’t have eaten it.  I’m going to have the grilled chicken sandwich so I don’t add anymore stress to my life right now.”  Its all about that internal conversation and choices.  Food can’t solve problems.  Skipping workouts can’t solve problems – if anything it can help you feel better.

So, next time you’re about to make a choice based on the stress of a situation, ask yourself if that choice is really going to relieve your stress or fix the situation.  If not, ask yourself if there is a different choice you can make.  Then, make the decision.

And, remember . . . If you don’t take care of yourself, no one else will.

Hug your friends and family.  Tell them you love them.

I was talking with someone over the weekend who has a strong desire to lose weight and get healthy.  One of the biggest challenges she faces is that she grew up in a Southern way.  That typically means lots of butter, gravy, sauces and fried foods.  She had gotten away from the fried foods, but was having a lot of problems getting away from using a lot of butter, gravy and sauces.  Her husband and children are also used to all the goodies on their food.  Talk about a challenge – not only changing your eating, but that of other people.

We talked for a while and what I told her was that your taste can change over time.  Just because you like a lot of butter now does not mean you always have to like a lot of butter.  How do you get your taste to change?  Just a little bit at a time.

What do I mean?  If you are used to using a tablespoon of butter, use a little less next time and a little less the time after.  A tablespoon of butter has 102 calories.  If you use 1/3 less, you’ve saved 34 calories.  “Only 34 calories?!?!?” I hear you saying.  Yup.  But, over time, those little changes can add up.  If you eat 1/3 less each time you have a tablespoon of butter, and you have two tablespoons a day, that adds up to almost 500 calories a week.  500 calories a week would be over just about a half a pound a month.  If all you changed was the butter.  Just imagine if you ate just a little bit less of other foods?  It would add up – every day, every week and every month.

You can use little changes to change your taste to other things as well.  For example, if you don’t like whole wheat pasta but want to, you can start by mixing 3/4 regular and 1/4 whole wheat pasta.  Next time, add a little more whole wheat and a little less regular.  Slowly add more wheat and less regular.  Before you know it, you’ll be eating all whole wheat.  The same thing can work if you want to switch from whole, or 2% to skim milk.  Just mix the two in different amounts until you get used to the taste.  It just takes a little bit . . . of time.

I hope you can think about just a little bit. . . next time you look at the butter, sauce, gravy or whatever your challenge is.

Here’s a great article about how people are using their cell phones in the kitchen for a lot of different things including keeping grocery lists, texting friends for cooking help, and looking for recipes. . .

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/21/dining/21tele.html?_r=1&ref=style

Determining portion size, particularly when eating out, is a challenge. As tempted as I am sometimes to carry my scale and meauring cups and spoons with me, I don’t. Here is a good article on determining portion sizes: http://www.ajc.com/services/content/printedition/2009/01/14/eatingout.html

I’ve talked to some of you about the Big Breakfast Cookie and said I’d include it in an upcoming newsletter.  Well, today is the day!

If I haven’t told you about it, the Big Breakfast Cookie is just that - a big breakfast cookie.  Actually, you can eat it any time of day, but wouldn’t it fun to start the day with a big cookie?  YES!  And, this is a very popular recipe.  I e-mailed it to a friend who had her assistant make a couple of copies.  Her assistant came back and said “I hope its OK but I made a bunch of copies and gave it out around the office.  It sounds so good.”  I’m amazed how this one simple recipe spreads like wildfire once someone gets a hold of it.  In fact, I got it from someone else . . . .

Breakfast can be a hard meal for everyone.  Mornings are busy with workouts, getting yourself ready, getting others ready, etc.  Finding time to squeeze in a meal can be a real challenge.  That is another reason the Big Breakfast Cookie is a great option.  It takes minutes to throw together.  In fact, you can put all the dry ingredients together ahead of time and mix in the apple sauce in the morning and bake it (unfortunately, it doesn’t hold well over a couple of days; I haven’t tried freezing it though).  Personally, I’ll put together the dry ingredients for three or four days in storage bags at one time over the weekend.  This takes probably 10 minutes and sets up my breakfasts for the week.  That way in the morning all I have to do is turn on the oven, dump it in a bowl, add the apple sauce, mix, spread it on a piece of parchment paper, put it in the oven, go shower, pull it out when I get out of the shower and eat.  Simple – right?

Want to make your own?  Here’s the recipe.  You can also add nuts, chocolate chips, or use other dried fruit than raisins.  Just be sure you realize that those extras add calories.