Women’s World Magazine Telling My Transformation Story!

Posted on September 6, 2018

Hello World! After a much-needed summer hiatus which included, travel, relaxation, and some lake-side teaching of DDPY, I’m back with a BANG! After months of planning, writing, primping, plotting, and prep…THIS happens today! 

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❤️
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Women’s World Magazine is telling my transformation story! The issue is on newsstands today through Sept. 12 – so excited and grateful! A big thank you to Bauer Publishing, Alayne Curtiss of Make Me Fabulous in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. and Find Your Moxie and Gusto for making the magic happen!

The main thing I want to get across here is: it is never too late, and there is always Hope! Run to your nearest supermarket or bookstore and get your issue today. Thanks for reading! XO

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Want the weight off yesterday? I know…

Posted on June 8, 2018
“But I want to get the weight off…now! Or at least soon. As soon as possible. What can you do for me?”
 
It’s a very common request from clients and readers and believe me, I not only understand it, I have LIVED it for decades.

Me doing an existential WTF to the Universe…

During the years I was awash in binge-eating and ignoring the messages my heart and soul was valiantly trying to tell me, I’d emerge from a year or so of unmitigated eating and running from reality with a resolve born of both panic and disgust: I’VE GOT TO GET THIS FREAKIN’ WEIGHT OFF!

Loading Up on Food, Tamping Down on the Anxiety

 
The problem was, I hadn’t a clue how to go about it in a rational and lasting way. The strict diets and food trends I grabbed onto (low-fat, high-fat, no-carb, low-carb, all liquids…you get the picture) left me feeling sad, confused, and more stuck. So I went back to binge-eating to feel better. And 6 months to a year later, I’d ricochet back to the other extreme. In the interim, I’d do whatever I could to heal the inner wounds and pay attention (as much as I would allow a the time) to my heart and soul and what they really needed.
 
Turns out, they needed me to be present to, well, the present. And deal with whatever’s going on in as forthright a manner as I could. This is the abridged solution and it’s an existential artform I continue to perfect. Over the two decades I spent at 300 pounds +, I got better and better at being in the present moment and with being honest with myself and others.
 
And as cliche as it sounds, when my student-self was ready, the teacher, in the form of Diamond Dallas Page and #DDPYOGA, appeared. I knew what was required of me and I was ready to do it. And I knew what was required to keep the weight off and I continue to agree to do it. Not perfectly because that was never the goal anyway. 
 
But when I stopped pinning all hopes for happiness on #weightloss and began to pay attention to which way the compass was really pointing, the self-esteem went from a sapling to a beanstalks that would have made Jack proud.

The Lotus begins in the mud, deep beneath the surface. It takes a long time to reach the light and bloom, but once it does, it is a beautiful and immutable strong blossom.

If I can convince one or a few of you not to be hard on yourselves and find ways to appreciate and nourish yourselves, a little at a time, then my journey will have been that much more worth it.

Happy and Healthy

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The Past Does Not Determine The Future

Posted on May 9, 2018

From the start, I was labeled because of my weight. The chubby girl who was teased by classmates was put on her first diet at age 9 and grew into the fat teenager who curled up with a tray of brownies on prom night. Eventually, the isolated and embittered teen became the obese adult who spent her time in one of two ways: burying her pain with covert visits to the nearest drive-thru or trying to solve it all with the latest diet. Such was my life until the day in January 2009 when I stepped on the scale and learned my weight had climbed to 345 pounds.



Greatist.com recently published a short list of strategies that have helped me keep 180 pounds off for nearly a decade. There’s so much corruption in the diet industry. By being so entrenched in it for most of my life, I learned how to circumvent it. We all know (even if we don’t want to believe it sometimes) that there’s no magic answer. It takes self-inquiry, brutal honesty, and effort. 

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It can be a bewildering maze of options and promises to say the least…made even more daunting if you’re starting out with no guidance. That’s where my decades of trial and error come in. I offer one-on-one support from someone who’s been there. It’s how I got to where I am today – no one goes it alone. Don’t want a full-blown coaching package? Sign up for a 30-minute Q&A. Ask me anything. About food, feeling the feelings, gluten-free vs. grain-free, or which form of movement might be a fit. Bouncing back from years of zoning out with food isn’t easy, I’ll be the first to tell you…but it’s possible.

 

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New Breakfast Recipe: Short and Unsweetened

Posted on April 6, 2018

My relationship with carbs has been quite the patchwork of mood swings over the past decade. In January, it will be 10 years that i stepped out in faith and followed the cues Life was suddenly giving me to make slow and steady changes toward better health.

Step 1: shelve the binge-eating and processed foods. This is a huge step in and of itself but I felt ready. And I also knew, after a lifetime of dieting and being hard on myself what NOT to do. So in the beginning this was my only rule. I didn’t place restrictions on quantity or calorie-counting, or writing my food down the day before – all of which drove me nuts.

Step 2: Going gluten-and dairy-free. This was at the advice of my mentor, Diamond Dallas Page, creator of DDPYOGA, the physical part of the equation that helped me regain my strength and physical grace (it was there all along…it only needed to be uncovered).  The second step was a big one and it was taken at about month 3 of my journey. Very important detail because when I take on too many changes too soon, it backfires. I wasn’t in a race and I didn’t want overwhelm, only permanent change I could LIVE with.

Step 3: Becoming acquainted with the gluten-free and cow-dairy-free lifestyle. This was actually fun, because I had some pretty delicious times with cupcakes, cookies, baguettes, bagels…..you get the picture. But I was younger and my metabolism could take it. I didn’t over eat them though, even though I easily COULD. Being mindful of quantity and when I’ve had enough was a skill that developed over time, and the one underlying rule I still live by is no binge-eating. And when I want to eat more than my body needs I simply take it as a sign the waters are troubled and it’s time to do within.

Step 4: Keeping the weight off. I’ve been doing this for almost a decade thanks to following the formula laid out in Step 3. Which isn’t to say I’m a robot or fitness model whose weight never fluctuates. It has and it does. Which brings me to….

Step 5: Menopause. And all its attendant symptoms, including (cue the music from the shower scene in “Psycho”) WEIGHT GAIN! Yes it has happened, 30 pounds have come back, uninvited. The pasta dinners I could burn off with a longer work or harder workout don’t get incinerated like they once did. Because of this, carbs became the enemy – banished until further notice! But this wasn’t livable. I wasn’t happy and neither was my body. Which brings me to…

Step 6: Renegotiating with carbs. Let’s face it, I love ’em. They’re creamy, comforting, and nourishing…if you choose a healthy one. After listening to my body carefully and talking it over (dialoging with your body as you would a close friend is something I do and recommend to my clients, it’s a great way to glean information, as well as repair the damage from all the years I berated it), I decided adding healthy carbs back in the equation was in order. I welcomed brown basmati rice, quinoa, potatoes (red and purple in particular) to the stove with open arms. Even if some of the menopause weight is here to stay, so what? I should deprive myself of healthy food? I don’t think so.  I don’t eat carbs daily, but several times a week for sure. And here’s one of my favorite ways to enjoy a bowl of comforting carbs – hot cereal. Sure, there are plenty of gluten-free hot cereals out there, try ’em all if you like!  But as you know, I love not only cooking, but alchemizing food with my Vitamix. There’s a little labor involved with this one, but remember, labor in the kitchen usually translates into something that’s less processed and better for you in the long run. Make a big batch and have it for the week, or freeze part of it. Cream of Brown Rice Cereal is a blank canvas so jazz it up with shredded coconut, hemp hearts, dried fruit, pumpkin pie spice…whatever!  The point is to enjoy both the process and the eating. Yes, we are allowed to ENJOY our food – what a concept!

 

 

Cream of Brown Rice Cereal

Ingredients:

1 cup cooked brown rice (I love brown basmati rice)

1 cup unsweetened almond milk (or non-dairy milk of your choice)

1 teaspoon vanilla

dash of cinnamon (optional)

Sweetener of choice (I eat it unsweetened, but if you want to add maple syrup or honey, go for it)

Instructions:

Blend all ingredients in a blender or food processor until smooth. Scrape into a small ceramic baking dish with a lid and bake for about 20 minutes at 300. May also be cooked on the stovetop but it has to be stirred frequently or it’ll burn. Serve and enjoy. You are FUELED for the morning.

 

Sooo good for you in the morning…or whenever the urge to be comforted by carbs strikes.

 

 

Don’t eliminate, UPGRADE. White Quinoa is a beautiful and delicious thing….And can be alchemized into hot cereal.

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The Joy of Blueberry Picking

Posted on March 13, 2018

 

 

Anyone who has ever done it knows that picking blueberries in a sunny field on a beautiful mid-summer’s afternoon is good for the soul. But since those days only occur during a short window at a very specific time of the year, it’s best to embrace the opportunity with both arms and squeeze hard, so to speak. There’s something infinitely satisfying about A) being immersed in nature; B) harvesting your own food; and C) embarking on an activity that’s so absorbing, your focus on it becomes a meditation. I’m not the most disciplined meditator, as much as a fan as I am of its benefits. Sitting still for 20 minutes is a chore for me, but picking blueberries is NOT.

This may seem like torture to some of you, as yet another Nor’Easter bears down on some of the country. Spring isn’t exactly rolling out the welcome mat for us at this point, so summer seems especially distant. Think of this post as more of a ‘something to look forward to’ seed to be planted now and enjoyed later.

 

A bucket full of Joy!

Picking blueberries has become a cherished summer ritual, not the least of which has to do with the beautiful health benefits they possess. I love eating fresh blueberries on their own, in smoothies, coconut yogurt, and in baking.  When fresh blueberries are no where to be found, I rely on frozen!  They don’t have the plumpness and physical beauty of their fresh counterparts, but they are perfect in smoothies and baking. Case in point: muffins! One of my all-time favorite indulgences.

One of the easiest ways to whip a batch up is with a gluten-free box mix. Simply dump in desired amount of berries to the mix and you have a masterpiece on your hands.  Or, if you’re looking for a from-scratch recipe, here’s my favorite Paleo version:

 

 

One of my favorite indulgences…that’s loaded with antioxidants!

 

 

 

 

Paleo Blueberry Muffins

Ingredients:

2 ¼ cups almond flour (or flour of choice)

½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/3 cup coconut palm sugar

4 eggs, room temperature

¼ cup coconut oil, melted or softened to room temperature

1 cup coconut milk (full-fat from the can)

1 tablespoon vanilla

2-3 cups fresh or frozen berries (thawed if using frozen)

 

Batter up!

 

 

 

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375. Place all dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and sift-blend with wire whisk. In a food processor, add eggs, vanilla and coconut milk. Pulse mixture until smooth. Pour liquid from food processor into the mixing bowl. Add coconut oil and blend thoroughly with wire whisk or wooden spoon. Add blueberries and mix thoroughly. It’s OK if some burst and ‘bleed.’ Spray two muffin tins (12 each) with non-stick cooking spray, or use paper muffin cups in the tins. Pour batter into each cup, filling about 3/4 full.  Bake for 25-30 minutes on the oven’s center rack. Turn oven off and let sit for 10 minutes in cooling oven. Remove from oven and serve while still warm. Muffins may be refrigerated for up to a week, and they also freeze well.

 

 

Worth every bit of effort…

 

 

 

 

 

Fresh or frozen, blueberries make a beautiful breakfast parfait. See “Clean Comfort” for the recipe.

 

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