A FORTNIGHTLY MINI E-MAG TO HELP YOU CREATE A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE THAT YOU LOVE ISSUE #4 • DECEMBER 2013
KNOW WHAT YOU NEED TO DO FOR HEALTH
BUT YOU’RE JUST NOT FRIKKIN’ DOING IT?
PIZZA RECIPES (that are healthy) NEED WE SAY MORE!
5
MINUTES
is all it takes to
BOOST YOUR WILLPOWER
How to do what you say you’re going to do, even if part of you doesn’t want to.
I find human behavior fascinating. I love nothing more than trying to completely understand what drives someone to behave (or not) behave a certain way. I love figuring out why someone keeps doing what they do despite knowing what they know and despite wanting very much to change. I’ve been doing lots of research and learning about building habits and the neuroscience behind willpower (yeah this stuff - it’s like a hobby to me :)) And whilst I’ll spare you the “science” behind what goes on in the brain, I thought I would share with you some of the really interesting research I’ve come across that practically can be used as strategies for things like getting up in the morning to workout or avoiding the petrol station on the way home to get a Magnum ice-cream. Some of the research I’ve read is quite counter intuitive to what we think works (or should work).
3 Simple strategies to
Increase your willpower so that you do what you say you’re going to do
(Note: These strategies only work if there is genuine desire for change).
1. Kill the Guilt: How many times have you beaten yourself up over the chocolate you ate while on a diet? You eat 1 brownie, feel bad about it and think “to hell with it” I might as well eat more. Sound familiar? Studies show us that shame & guilt are one of the main reasons why we fall off the wagon. The harder we are on ourselves when we slip up even just a little the weaker our willpower becomes and the greater the chance of falling to temptation next time. The BEST thing that you can do on the occasion that you slip up, and 2
it WILL happen, is to demonstrate some self-compassion. So instead of getting angry & feeling like a failure try the following “script” • Be self-aware and mindful of how you feel. For example say “I feel guilty that I didn’t get up and go for my run like I said I would because it’s important for me to get fitter” • Common Humanity talk: “But... I am only human; we all slip up during the process of change. It’s normal. • Be kind to yourself: “This doesn’t mean I’m a failure, I’ll go to sleep a little earlier tonight and set this goal for tomorrow or maybe I’ll just go for a walk this afternoon?”
2. Feed your Brain: Willpower isn’t just psychological it’s physiological. Using willpower is one the most energy expensive tasks that your brain can do. Which means if it’s not well fed and rested it’s simply not going to have the fuel to resist that second (or third) cup of coffee. Some of the best ways to “feed & restore” your brain is through higher quality sleep. I think this might also link to studies that show that those who don’t sleep enough struggle more with controlling their weight. Another way is through mindful meditation. The simple task of training your brain to just focus on your breath as you inhale & exhale is hugely restorative to your brain, particularly to the area of the brain that controls willpower. But if meditation isn’t your thing yet then anything that helps you to focus on the present (rather than worrying about the past or future) like being in nature, hanging out with your fur babies or even listening to your favourite song and dancing away energises your brain which means when you ask it to harness willpower it will actually have the energy to do so. Of course it goes without saying that nourishing your body with wholesome food helps greatly.
3. Give your brain a neurological nudge with rewards: For the survival of our species our brains are hardwired to seek rewards - i.e. food tastes good and sexy time feels good leading us to seek food and reproduce, both essential for the human race. Reward leads to action. However when we start off on a new clean way of eating for example, the reward sometimes just seems so far away that we lose focus on it, especially when the reward of eating cheesecake is instant. A longer lifespan or greater energy isn’t instant and so this can lead to a lack of action. But if you know that at the end of the day you are going to receive a reward for drinking your green smoothie and eating your veggies then your brain, being hardwired to seek out reward will nudge you to the desired action. Practically what does this look like? Well I’m gonna try this and get back to you on how I go. A habit that I have wanted to build for a really long time now is to make my green juice the night before so I can drink it all throughout the morning the next day. I’ve done it before and
when I only have green juice up until lunch time my health really thrives and I feel amazing - this is something I genuinely want to do. But at night time I justify other activities and sometimes quite honestly I just get lazy and don’t make my juice. The gratification of greater energy takes a little a while but the gratification of reading a good book is instant and so I choose that most times. So what I’m going to do is write down 7 rewards separately on a small piece of paper and put them in a jar. Every night that I make my juice I’m going to pull out a “reward”. What happens here is that I get the instant gratification from making my juice or I get the instant “pain” of missing out on a reward if I don’t make my juice. The research shows that the rewards don’t all need to be extravagant; that in fact there should be a 50/50 mixture of simple rewards like a note saying “Well done you’re awesome” to a note saying you’ve “won” a massage or a trip to the movies. Now some people might say that you should just be able to suck it up and just do it. I guess that’s one approach (and one I used to use) but personally, for habits I want to maintain for the long term I’d much rather make the process fun and rewarding so I do it more often rather than feeling like I’m punishing myself for wanting to improve my lifestyle. Who would have thought that the things we usually avoid on our quest to “lose weight or get fit” like being compassionate, resting more and rewarding ourselves might in fact be the very things that help us achieve better health AND enjoy the journey as well.
3
Pizza
I wanted to do a Pizza Recipe series quite simply because Pizza is where it’s at... Even more so when it’s not full of rubbish toppings. For the base for each of these Pizza toppings either use a wholemeal base or large Lebanese pita bread (I stack 2 on top of each other to support the toppings). If you’re avoiding gluten then of course look for GF bases.
Each of these take approx. 15 to 20 minutes in the oven at about 200 degrees Celsius. If you can, organic dairy (i.e. cheese in this case) is really the best choice.
1
Italian Pesto Pizza 1/2 cup high quality bought or homemade basil pesto feta cheese, crumbled 1 jar artichokes, drained and chopped 1/3 cup hydrated sundried tomatoes, sliced 1/2 cup chopped kalamata olives
2
Grilled Eggplant and Fresh Basil olive oil for brushing eggplant
3
Classic Vegetarian 1 cup pizza sauce 1 to 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 small eggplant
1 4 ounce can sliced mushrooms, drained
about 12 medium whole fresh basil leaves
1 16 ounce can artichoke hearts, drained
about 1/3 cup prepared pizza sauce
1/2 large green capsicum, sliced
2/3 cup grated mozzarella cheese (get it from the deli if you can – makes a huge difference to the taste) 4
1/2 large red or yellow capsicum, sliced 1/2 cup chopped red onion 1 2 ounce can sliced black olives, drained black pepper to taste
Willpower
Brain Training
...
Breath focus is a powerful meditation technique for training your brain and increasing willpower. It reduces stress and teaches the mind how to handle both inner distractions (cravings, worries, desires) and outer temptations (sounds, sights and smells). Step 1: Sit still & stay put Sit crossed legged on a cushion in a quiet room, with little light. Sit-up straight and rest your hands on your lap. If you notice an instinct to fidget in any way, see if you can feel the urge but not follow it. The simple act of staying still is part of what makes meditation willpower training effective. You are learning not to automatically follow every single impulse that your brain & body produce (like the impulse for ice-cream).
Step 2: Turn your attention to your breath
Step 3: Notice how it feels to breathe, and notice how the mind wanders.
Close your eyes. Begin to notice your breathing. Silently in your mind say “inhale” as you breath in and “exhale” as you breath out. When you notice your mind wandering off ( and it will), just bring it back to your breath.
After a few minutes, drop the labels “inhale/exhale”. Try focusing on just the feeling of breathing. Just focus on your belly or chest expanding as you breathe in and out. Again your mind will wander. When it does just bring it back to your breath. Go back to saying inhale and exhale. Do this ONLY for 5 minutes every day. A short practice is better than a long practice that you just put off until the next day. It helps to find a specific time that you will do this, like before going to bed or as soon as you wake up. Having said that being flexible also helps, so just fit it in when you can. 5
THE ULTIMATE
30 DAY
KICK-START IMAGINE THIS: A Certified Food & Wellness Coach teaches you how to eat, what to eat and why to eat it. They tell you that the missing link to all of this is the exact thing that you think you need to give up — PLEASURE & FUN. You learn how to feel better than you have in ages, and your will feel great from the inside out & none of it is really all that hard because you’ve designed it around what YOU like. WANT THE GOOD NEWS? You don’t have to just imagine it. I’ve put together my Ultimate 30 Day Kick-start Program & Detox to help you design a healthy lifestyle that you love. It will help you to lose weight (and then manage it), to have more focus & be more productive and to help you have more consistent levels of energy. No dieting; just plain good-oldfashion healthy eating, learning to listen to your body and figuring out what works best for YOU.
This program is entirely online, delivered straight to your email inbox to complete at your own pace. But you won’t be alone. The program is about progress NOT perfection. The program helps you to set sustainable boundaries for you, so that you can incorporate things you want in your life (e.g. alcohol, sugar, caffeine) but not in a way that comes at a cost to your valuable health. The program helps you set healthy habits not restrictions.
“I have just successfully completed your program and I can’t believe how amazing this journey has been. It’s got to be one of the best things I have done and super easy to follow. The thing I loved was that it’s not at all a diet and I never felt like I was on one, the meals were all super delicious and really easy to make — I now have a green smoothie every morning — I love them! However the key aspect that was so great and so different to a lot of similar products on the market is that the program looks at your lifestyle and factors things in like taking out the time to focus on your goals from week to week, taking time out for you and the most important thing — never feeling guilty. Its a lifestyle program that I fully plan on living for the rest of my life. I am happier, sleeping better and have heaps more energy ... even my personal trainer says im training better than ever before — cant really ask for much more in life.” —CP, 31 Full time corporate worker, Brisbane
Why wait?
Get your copy of the program here and start today!
www.leancleaneating.com/ products/ultimate-kick-start-program
FOUNDER / EDITOR:
Adriana Solorzano Adriana is the founder of Lean Clean Eating, a food coach, a fitness trainer, an author and a speaker. Over 6 years ago Adriana packed in a successful but totally unfulfilling career as a Senior Accountant for a large glitz CBD firm, to follow her passion for health and fitness. Now she specialises in fitness, food and health coaching. Adriana is passionate about ensuring the path is enjoyable and maintains that it’s not hard when you know what to focus on!
Download her FREE book ‘The Lean Clean Eating Plan’ at www.leancleaneating.com (valued $29.95) 6