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June 4, 2014
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I “Want” To Eat Healthy…

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I “Want” To Eat Healthy…

But my cravings tell me different!

No secret that junk food is addictive. What is even more annoying is that messes with us! It can even “plant” seeds of resentment towards anyone who eats healthy or encourages us to do so. I will absolutely admit that when I lived with a dear friend who at healthy while I ate my fast unhealthy meals… I would become aware that I wasn’t helping myself, get irritated about it, and then take the misplaced anger out on her in snippy remarks or harbored judgment. PLUS! Every time I would try to eat healthier I felt like I was punishing myself.

The addiction is real. I am not crazy and neither are you. First place to look for proof is the over-whelming amount of scientific research that is everywhere. Including a study in Sweden showing that the hormone ghrelin, which activates the brain’s REWARDS SYSTEM and increases appetite, reacts similarly to sugar and alcohol. This makes junk food a security blanket and a source of validation. Try to take that away, things can get ugly and you know the rest.

The good news is you can break the cycle. Once upon a time I could eat half a package of Oreos in one sitting and now, because I have been eating clean for so long, it would make me physically sick. After about 2 years of eating healthy my digestive system isn’t able to handle that amount of chemicals. It does take time, patience and will-power but if I can do it (remembering I could shoot through a box of mac&cheese with extra butter in one meal), so can you.

Tips to get you started and going:

1. Get the junk out of the house: Simple logic – if it’s not there – you won’t eat it. If you have some with a friend at there house, dump the leftovers when you leave. Provide yourself with healthy snacks for mindless eating such as strawberries – cherries – carrots – grapes.

2. Go for the 80% 20% rule: Eat clean during the week and then have a treat day 🙂 It makes the week easier to handle and the treat that much sweeter. Have a day when you go to Starbucks for a cookie and a latte (remember – keep it out of the house).

3. Make a comforting ritual out of eating healthy:Pay attention to your nightly rituals and sub in healthy items. For instance I used to have a mug of hot vanilla milk & ice cream before bed – I switched over to homemade healthy popcorn & tea. After a while I loved just having the tea and the popcorn became a treat.

4. Carry healthy snacks: Avoid “needing” the snack machine or the drive-thru and carry around something like an apple and raw nuts. The first noticeable perk about this one is it saves you $$$! MESSAGE ME if you want tasty healthy snack ideas.

5. Discover new yummies!: If the classic fruits and veggies are too boring then spend some time in the produce section and discover new ones. Ever had a wrinkly Gold Nugget Tangerine? OH – MY – WORD! Or a Custard Apple?

6. Protect the emotional times: Let’s not kid ourselves something emotional may happen and the classic “I NEED junk food” feeling will show up. So try eating a bunch of healthy stuff first to get you full and then by the time the junk food shows comes out you can only fit a tiny bit more. Not the most fantastic alternative portion-wise… but it does protect you from allowing junk food to be the “cure-all”. Then after a while you won’t need it. 
June 4, 2014
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Banana Fig Muffins

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Banana Fig Muffins By Chrissy Mason!!!
Thank you Chrissy for this recipe, it’s amazing!

Ingredients:
1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup Old Fashioned Oatmeal
1/4 cup Wheat Bran

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/3 teaspoon Himalayan salt

1/4 cup chopped figs

1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (optional)

1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas

1/3 cup honey

1/3 cup melted coconut oil

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

1/2 cup broken walnut pieces (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°; I used mini-muffin pans sprayed with all natural cooking spray.

2. Add 2 tablespoons water each to any empty muffin cups.

3. In a bowl, mix the whole wheat flour, wheat bran, oatmeal, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt together; add in the figs and chopped walnuts; toss to coat.

 

In another bowl, whisk the banana, honey, coconut oil, egg, and vanilla together until blended; add to dry ingredients all at once; fold in until evenly moistened.

 

Divide batter among muffin cups; sprinkle tops evenly with broken walnuts.

 

Bake at 350 for 15 minutes

 

Cool on a wire rack before removing the muffins from pan.
June 4, 2014
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Sleep on and sleep well

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Get to SLEEP!!!
Quality Z’s…

A popular topic in the Goodrich house lately is sleep… mainly because now it’s a massive challenge, and we have to be intentional about making sure we get it.  Some cues to tell you that you are not getting quality Z’s:

  • You’re falling asleep as soon as your head hits the pillow
  • Dozing off in meetings or during movies
  • You hit the snooze button more than once
  • Almost as soon as you’re awake your body feels like sleeping more

Seems a bit obvious, but these are warning signs that are often ignored and, according to Cheri Mah, M.S. a Stanford University sleep researcher, it’s like credit card debt – “Over time that accumulated debt can affect performance and mood.”  Impacting health, stress, keeping your heart rate higher and your nervous system on constant alert. Yuck!

Tips to get better Rest:
1. Be Consistent: Stick to the same sleep schedule – ALWAYS – yes even weekends. Sleeping in on the weekends actually does your body more harm than good. When you have a regular schedule your body will get in the habit of releasing sleeping hormones around the same time each evening. Mess that up over the weekend, and you have a rougher start to the week. Plus you have to fix it again!

2. Hibernate: Make your room your sleeping cave at night – dark, quiet, and cool. Invest in some black-out curtains, white noise machine (we use our fan), and block out any glowing lights.

3. Power down… literally: Turn off all the electronics and UNPLUG. Their blue light blocks the production of the sleep hormone melatonin, says Shelby Harris, Psy.D., Director of Montefior’s Behavioral Sleep Medecine Program. So you are not helping yourself by watching TV until you knock-out.

4. Drink a wee bit less: (get it?!) If you want to prevent middle-of-the-night bathroom breaks then cut back on water about 3 hours before bed. You don’t have to stop altogether but don’t chug 16oz. before falling asleep. Also, alcohol may help knock you out… but “night-caps” backfire because they disrupt later deeper stages of sleep.

5. Caffeine cut-off: Caffeine can stick around in your body for more than 6 hours after consumption. So switch to decaf after 5pm.

6. Snackage: A SMALL snack of protein and carbs can be helpful  if you have a grumbling tummy before bed. It also provides the materials to make more melatonin later in the night.

7. Pain?: Ibuprofen and other anti-inflammatory can actually keep some folks up at night. Instead try taking fish oil or glucosamine chondroitin. Another helpful item may be a chamomile-lavender lotion.

8. Be patient: This is not a quick-fix, it takes a few days of a healthy before-bed routine for this to kick in and the results are WORTH IT.

9. Pregnant tip!: Build a pillow fort. Make sure your back and front are supported with a good pillow wall. Also invest in a good head pillow – your neck determines a lot of your nightly movement.

Happy Z’s!
June 4, 2014
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Easy Tasty Turkey Burgers

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Easy Tasty Turkey Burgers
The picture says it all! If you don’t have an HEB nearby, any fresh made Pico De Gallo will work. These little beauties freeze easy and are an awesome go-to when you don’t have time to cook. If you want to get fancy you can add a bit of Bragg’s Liquid Aminos for flavoring.
Enjoy!
June 4, 2014
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Simple Rules to Follow

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Simple Rules to Follow
Big changes to come… 

Folks have mentioned that getting healthy is complicated… so we are going to keep the theme of this whole newsletter SIMPLE.

  1. If your Great Great Grandmother wouldn’t recognize it or what it’s made of: Don’t eat it – Don’t Drink it
  2. Eat 100% Whole grains
  3. Stay out of the fryer
  4. Plan meals ahead
  5. Cook your own food
  6. Eat small, Eat often
  7. Drink Water – a lot
  8. Find a fitness program
  9. DECIDE – COMMIT – SUCCEED

Yup! That’s right! Only 9 rules. Stick to these and watch the massive changes that will happen in your energy, weight, inches and lifestyle.
April 30, 2014
1

Steps That Make The Difference

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Pursuing Your Goal

 A goal is a huge, over-arching statement that sounds great and will get you going. However, words alone will only motivate you for, maybe, a few days? A few weeks? A great way to accomplish your goal is to position, prioritize, andhave accountability.

1. Prioritize: “If it is important to you, you will FIND A WAY; if not you will find an EXCUSE.” – anonymous. Oddly enough, one of the most powerful things you can do for your goal is to start with a question. What is my WHY? You have to know what makes this goal important to you because that is what is going to keep you going when you don’t want to. Dig deeper than “because it’s what I want”. This is where you get to be that 5-year-old that exhausts others with that simple question “but why?”. An easy way to get to the bottom of your WHY is to have someone close to you be that 5-year old and help you dig.

2. Position: You have a goal! You have your WHY! Awesome! Now what? Sit down and reverse engineer your goal. What is going to get you there? You need a system of the “how’s” that are in bite size pieces.

Ex: I want to lose 40 pounds: HOW? > eat right and exercise > HOW? > meal plan, fitness routine, & accountability > HOW? > find a meal planner that works for you or develop a system that works for you >HOW? > find someone who has done it or google for an answer…etc.

Get the idea? It should honestly take 30 min to an hour to break your goal down. The purpose is to give yourself a game plan. It puts your goal in perspective and gives you the ability to chase after it without feeling overwhelmed. 

3. Accountability: It makes a DIFFERENCE when you have someone you HAVE TO ANSWER TO. It can be as simple as weekly/daily text, asking friends for accountability by publicly sharing your goal, or having a check in once a week. Whatever you do, share your WHY, and your game plan with them. Then, set up a specific time to check in every week. (Personal note: This has been vital in my own journey. I have a dear friend who I check in with every Friday for 30 min and we report our week’s checkpoints for our goals.)