One small change to your eating can get big results

The Game Changer

There is just a few more days 0f 2017 and then on to a new year with new resolutions and renewed aspirations for a new you.  Gyms are packed with people January 1st but are back to the same by February. Why? Because we just want a quick way to lose lots of weight so we can go back to our old eating habits and our little to no exercise habits, and still keep the weight off, but are reminded quickly that this is an endless path to disappointment with our weight, appearance, and self-esteem. 

So what can we do about it? 

Consistency!  We have to find habits that promote good health that we can and will do consistently for the long haul. This is a proven effective way of reclaiming and keeping long-term health!

So why aren't more people doing this if it is a proven method for helping thousands of people reclaim their health for the long haul? 

Because most the time, these changes, that we can do, and are willing to do are usually small changes that do not bring immediate results, they work over time. And let's be honest, unlike our friend ELF, that's not our favorite:) 

This new year, make it your goal to build healthy habits that are sustainable, and stay clear of all the fad quick loss diets and focus on being mindful of what you eat when you eat, and how you eat. 

I want to give you one of the most important habits that you can practice and it's so simple you won't believe it's so valuable, but it is. And even know it's simple it's not always easy to be consistent, but if you are it with pay big dividends for your health in the long run! 

Eat Slowly. 

Here are some simple ways to eat slowly

• Put your fork down between bites.

• Relax. Breathe. Take a few extra moments before you pick the fork up again.

• Set a timer if needed — start with 15 minutes per meal as a basic goal. Work up to 20 or even 30.

• Chew a few more times than you think you need to.

• Enjoy and savor each bite. If you’re eating something delicious, take pleasure in it. Notice smells, flavors, and textures.

• Eat mindfully without distractions such as TV, smartphones, or the computer. (Pleasant conversation with friends and family is, of course, welcome.) 

Why eating slowly is so awesome!!

1. Slow eating creates mindfulness. Mindfulness creates awareness.

When you get the hang of slow eating and your body cues, you'll become aware of when they’ve over-eaten.

2. Slow eating attunes people with flavors, textures, and smells of food.

People instinctively begin to seek out better choices, simply because of increased awareness. Their emotional-brain elephant is gently guided, rather than wrenched unwillingly.

3. Slow eating provides important information to the GI tract and gives satiety hormones time to kick in.

If we rush, we don’t smell, taste, or texturally experience our food. Our bodies don’t notice stuff getting shoved into the pipeline until it’s too late.

However, when we eat slowly, our satiety hormones have time to work. We stop eating naturally, earlier.

4. Slow eating helps with digestion.

The step-by-step information processing also helps with cueing digestive activity such as peristalsis or enzyme secretion further downstream. Our GI tract doesn’t get caught off guard.

So you feel better after you eat.

If you suffer from heartburn this just might be a magic cure :)

5. Slow eating doesn’t depend on controlling what you eat.

This means you can do it anywhere, anytime, with any kind of food — whether that’s a Mother’s Day brunch, a business lunch, dinner at Grandma’s, a Vegas buffet, or S’Mores around a campfire.

No matter what’s on your plate or who’s around you, you can eat slowly.

6. Slow eating makes the client’s body the boss.

This means eventually you won’t have to rely on calorie counting, weighing and measuring food, or any other means of external control. you’ll feel much less anxious, and much more self-assured.

Paradoxically, relinquishing external control gives you more real control.

Mindfulness is the path to this outcome.

This year make a commitment to building habits that build a healthy you!

And if you would like to know more about this other habits that are proven to help you move toward your health goals, and would like help implementing them I would be happy to discuss more, just head over to my website or email me. 

Website: www.zaofit3.com                                                                                                               Email: zaofit3@gmail.com

Jerry Mullins                                                                                                                                       PN1, DSW, CPT, WMS

How can a penny help you get healthy?

The other day when I was on a morning run with my wife and a friend, I was thinking about some of my clients and former clients and I found myself asking why some really struggle and others flourish? If I could just find out "the why" I could be a better coach. I understand we all have stories that can give some insight, and there are a lot of great resources that I use (school, books, mentors) to help be the best coach I can be, but this particular day as I was running, and I started thinking about my wife, and she found change project. Boom! I realized it's all about the penny! So here's how it works: If while running she sees money she stops and picks it up, most the time its pennies but she has found all kinds of different coins, even some bills and other things like pocket knives and even a posable bunny. 

 My wife's old jar and new jar (first got too small)

Most people when running with her for the first time laughs when she suddenly stops. Usually, the person looks back and asks; "did you drop something" and she responds "No I found a penny" and at this point, she proceeds to tell them how she collects money that she finds regardless of its denomination. Most people laugh when she tells them she's saving money to pay for her trip to run Boston (marathon) someday, but others that have run with her for any period of time are inspired. Some even collect pennies themselves. Why? Because she has made believers out of us by collecting over a hundred dollars the last several years.

What do My clients and their health have to do with my wife and her coin collecting endeavor (obsession)? I believe it's the same reason you and I don't stop and pick up a penny, well, at least why I don't. When I see a penny I think its value is not worth me stopping in the middle of a run to pick it up; well it's only a penny and some of the pennies are barely even recognizable. Now if a see a quarter I think about it, I still don't pick it up but I do think about picking it up and if I see a dollar it's mine. What I have learned from my attitude towards her found change project; Is that because of her faithfulness to pick up everything she sees no matter the value, she has collected about one hundred dollars, a couple of pocket knives, a cool rock that says "Jesus Lord of all", a pretty shell and has inspired others to start their own found change jar.  

My coaching philosophy is a slow process of building habits and learning to make choices that are a little better. One of my favorite sayings is "Think a little better"  When it comes to your nutrition and exercise we can always do a little better. The problem with this philosophy is that it's like collecting pennies and most people don't want to collect pennies we want dollars! But you see if my wife only collected dollars she would be at a fraction of where she is, as a matter of fact, she might not have anything saved, because why save the dollar when it's sitting in your jar for over a year all by itself, it's a little discouraging so we might as well spend that dollar, right?

So what am I trying to say? When reclaiming your health you can be like my wife who no matter how tired she is, or how hard she has to push to catch the pack, how the run is going or how small the denomination of money is, she picks it up, because she understands that the Boston (marathon) is expensive and every penny gets her one penny closer to her goal.

Or you can be like me and pass the pennies hoping that you will find the stockpile of money that will pay for Boston all at once and end up with nothing. 

There is no magic bullet (short cut) to get you to your health goals, it comes one penny (small habit, little better choice) at a time. The awesome thing is that some days because of your faithfulness to the small things (pennies), big things (dollars found) will happen.

If you are looking to reclaim your health and are willing to build habits that bring long-term results by making small changes (collect pennies) I would love to talk to you about some options that will give you the tools needed to collect all the pennies you need to reach your health goals.

zaofait3@gmail.com

Open the pharmacy

Some people think I'm a little fanatical about my running. Yes, I do enjoy running, and I probably run more than most, I also do enjoy the spiritual, emotional and physical benefits of running. But it's not as much about running than it is about the benefits of exercise. Yes exercise. Running is my choice for exercise, but it's not the only choice. These days it's not uncommon to hear people argue over what is the best form of exercise, but unless we do it, I don't care how much science we have it's not going to work. The same goes with nutrition. We can argue all day what nutrition plan is best, but those that know nutrition are aware that there isn't a one best plan for everyone. My point is that we are all different and the exercise and nutrition plan that we follow can help one succeed and another feel like a failure. The important thing is to know that moving and staying active with something you can enjoy and eating as much real food as possible opens up the best pharmacy in the world; the one inside of you and me. The pharmacy that we have within us can heal and help us better than any drug in any pharmacy man has created thus far, unfortunately, most people have closed their pharmacy. The keys are in our control, but we have to put them to use so we can open the pharmacy up for business. I do believe there are situations where people need medicine from an external pharmacy, but a lot of times we need them because we have closed our own personal pharmacy and we have to get the medicine somewhere else. Here is an amazing thing about our own pharmacy: Our pharmacy knows exactly what we need and how much with no guessing! Yes, imagine if you went to a doctor and they gave you a prescription that wasn't based on a guesstimate of what the average person that was your size weight, and gender needed, but rather what amount you needed for you as an individual. That's what your body is capable of doing. Open your pharmacy and keep it open 24/7, it's your best plan for quality and quantity of life.

If you are wanting to open your pharmacy and you could use so help email me at zaofit3@gmail.com

A Script can save you lots of regret!

I want to take a minute and talk about the importance of scripting when it comes to change.

Scripting is thinking about what you would like to happen in a difficult situation.

So why is it so important to your health?

The other day I was at a leadership meeting for a conference that I help plan in the Spring every year. Our meeting was at Izzy's and one of the leaders while eating his mound of pizza and fried foods said he was on the Mediterranean diet as prescribed by his doctor. He went on to tell us that he has done very well for the past two weeks and wanted us to know that he was just enjoying this one meal, but would be right back on it tomorrow. Now there are a few things that made me sad about this conversation, but let's focus on how scripting could of made all the difference in the world for this guy. I could tell by his conversation and conviction, that he had every intention of making good choices when he got there, but there was so many good (Bad) choices that he was overwhelmed and just grabbed what he knew.

So how could scripting help?

I like the things on his plate as much as he did, but I scripted out a head of time.

Here is my Script: Go strait to the salad bar and fill my plate with highly nutritious food and when I'm done and mostly full I return to get something from the not so nutritious area.

So what did I do at that meeting? You guessed it. I went by my script and had a spinach salad lots of fruits and veggies some cottage cheese and for extra protein I got a friend chicken breast and pulled off all the skin and ate the meat, then I went and got a bowl of soft serve ice cream concoction (I think), yes it is a red light food!

Do I have more self control? No I don't believe I do. I scripted out what I would do so I was not left with lots of options, yes I was tempted, and I usually am, that's why I have a script to follow when I know things will be tough!

The more choices we have the more likely we are to pick what we know, and what were familiar with. But when we script out a plan we are more likely to choose what we have already decided to eat.

Try using a script when your going into a tough situation and share with me how it works out for you.