There are many lists of so-called super foods but I think this one is very accurate and I hope it will be helpful.

1. Whole eggs and egg whites

2. Oats used in recipes or oatmeal

3. Apples

4. Lentils used in any salad or soup or cooked with any other veg.

5. Salmon/tuna/other oily fish (Omega 3 rich)

6. Berries especially blueberries, seeded berries like black berries

7. Almonds or almond butter

8. Yogurt especially Greek or Soy yogurt if you are lactose intolerant

9. Quinoa by itself or in a salad (See recipes)

10. Avocado-eat the avocado then rub the rest on your hands and face!

11. Olive oil/flax seed oil

12. Whole grain cereals

13. All vegetables-check for fiber content, the higher the better

14. Health bars especially those high in fiber like Fiber One Bars

15. Water with lime or lemon added

16. Fruits especially grapefruit

17. Walnuts-watch portions, 1/4 cup is the serving size

18. Soy milk-very high in protein

19. Lean organic grass feed beef

20. Whole wheat pasta

Hope this helps. Recipes coming up soon. Any requests?

“Skating Uphill is tough, but the view from the top is worth it!”

                                         Judith Lawrenson

It is incredible, but true-PINK Magazine has been a gift to local women for ten years. This is our anniversary edition.  I am writing a very special column this month in honor not only of that fact, but in honor of what PINK has meant to so many women. Celebrate Your Womantality means that being a woman is important and valid. Being a woman is a unique experience that entails special feelings and values. Having said that, I will also say that being a woman involves you in a variety of self determined ways to prove to yourself that you deserve to be treated well, listened to, and recognized for your accomplishments.

In this month’s Skating Uphill, I will write about living a healthy life style in very broad terms. I will share ten things that you can and should do for yourself. Ten for Ten. These things will not be the old “go to a movie” or have a “girl’s night out.” I like to think we are past that in our journey. My ten things are different and just for YOU.

1. Go to your doctor and have a complete physical. Do not forget bone density and a mammogram. Talk to your doctor about weight, blood test results, and well-being. Discuss your overall health not just your physical results. Talk about stress as it relates to heart attack and how job satisfaction affects health. Use your time to really find out about things that are important to you. As you do this, remember that it this is not just about you. There are others who depend on how you feel on any given day. Do this for them too.
2. Journal your life for a week. Just one week. I do not mean just journal your food, I mean write down everything that happens in your day and how you feel about it. This can be such an eye-opener. Just do it once and you will learn so much about yourself and your interactions with those around you.
3. Clean out your pantry, kitchen, and bedroom closet. This may seem like a lot, but honestly, take just one hour-set your over timer. Start with two black plastic bags. One is for your donations and the other is for Stuff. By that I mean food you know you don’t want to eat, clothing that no longer fits, and panties and bras that are all stretched out. You will feel so good after you have done this.
4. Lose 5 pounds in a month. Do this by making small adjustments that you will never feel. Cut out or trade something. Don’t drink sweet tea, cut portions by one third, add 5 minutes a day to your exercises or if you don’t exercise try to do 15 minutes per day of just moving around. Drink a glass of water first thing in the morning. You get the idea. Pick a couple of things and surprise yourself.
5. On this same note, no pun intended, go out and buy yourself a CD with a big beat. I have everything from Benny Goodman to ABBA in the drawer of my bedside table. I drop in something with a Flashdance beat that I cannot resist and I dance for a while with no one watching. Sometimes this start to a day does something amazing. Try it.
6. I know this will sound corny, but take a spa treatment. You do not have to go big. There are lots of special deals out there for facials, massages, etc. Treat yourself. This is a non-food indulgence that will make you feel better-trust me on this one.
7. Take a class. Recent studies say that doing that crossword puzzle or jig saw is OK for brain sharpness, but to really tone up that IQ, take a class. There are many ways to do this if you just look in the paper or on line. Remember that old joke about the college class called “Underwater Basket Weaving?” Well, I am going to take a class at Coastal Discovery Museum in Gullah Basket Weaving. I am doing it not because I am good at handicrafts, but because I am NOT good at handicrafts. Try something different.
8. Change a bad habit into a good one. A habit is a habit. If you can have a bad one, you certainly could have a good one. I am not even saying you have to give something up, just do something new. Start by drinking a glass of water at your bathroom sink every morning. Quick and easy-water and glass are already there. Try parking your car further away from the store or your job. Try cutting portions by 1/3. You will be surprised how quickly you get used to that being your amount. You get the idea. The only condition to this one is that you should start small. Build on your successes.
9. Call someone you love. Call your child, old, dear friend, anyone about whom you care deeply. Call someone you love and tell them you love them. Just as simple as that. Reach out and touch someone as the old commercial used to say. Make a loving connection. It will make you feel so glad you did.
10. Finally, and I think this is the best of all, find some time for yourself, get a cup of peach tea with a teaspoon of honey, and sit down and read PINK from cover to cover. I frequently do this and I feel educated, inspired, enlightened, and made aware. When I say made aware, I mean not just of local happenings or local ladies or even where to go and what’s on sale. All of that is in PINK, but there is also tons more. I believe at some level we are all sisters and when you put down your PINK, I bet you will agree with me.

So, here are my ten things to do for your lovely self. I hope you find, make, or have time to do all ten and I hope doing these things for yourself will lift you up and make you happy. Indeed, why not?

Skating Uphill-PINK Magazine

March, 2014l

By

Judith Lawrenson

“Snax, Snacks, Snaques-Spell it however you like. Snacking can be the kiss of death to a healthy lifestyle program.”   The Uphill Skater

All right, ladies. We have been here before. We have had our “Come to Jesus” meeting about what snacking can do both to you and for you. Still, it is yet another part of the answer to that same old question: “Why am I not losing weight?”

There are several theories going around about how often one should eat in a day. Some say that eating five times a day is best and many other studies indicate that the three meals a day that is traditional is the best. Still others say that you should eat when and only when you are hungry. Although the “five times a day” crowd say that the five times a day should each be considered a meal and should be of equal size, we all know that is not going to happen and that at least one of those times is going to be smaller-hence a snack.

If you plan to eat three times a day should you include some sort of a small pick-me up-snack in the afternoon? Some say absolutely yes so your protein and sugar levels are maintained. Others say no as it conditions your body to always be sated and you never actually feel the pang of actual hunger.

Personally, I think all of these theories are just that-someone’s theory. We all get the fact that it is what we eat rather than how often we eat it that is important. Remember, as I have stated before, weight loss and good health is 90% diet and 10% exercise.

So, having said all of that, I will tell you my sad story. In the beginning of my original weight loss saga two years ago, I started to journal my food intake. I know it is a pain in the butt, ladies, but here is what I learned by day two. I was eating more in snacks than I was in actual food. Yes, my snack calorie intake was actually more than my meal intake. I was snacking on nuts which I know are high in fiber and protein but are also high in calories-about 190 per ¼ cup in fact. I also snacked on cheese and crackers or apple and peanut butter, or even “health” bars. It was quite easy to rack up 500 calories very quickly!

So, the point of this month’s guide is to tell you that whatever theory you favor about how often to eat, actually you should be watching WHAT you eat. I never give advice without a helping hand so here it is. Many times I am asked to name some good snacks and I am happy to do this now because I actually know the answer to that question.

Walnuts-1/4 cup                                 String cheese

A cup of coffee (yes!)                         Any fruit but especially grapefruit or apples

Any vegetable raw or cooked           A packet of instant oatmeal

Any cereal with non-fat milk             A boiled egg

Tomato and cottage cheese               Greek yogurt

Any pre-packaged item under 150 calories

A cup of spice tea                                    A cup of low cal vegetable soup

I could go on and on buy if you GOOGLE healthy snacks or some other such language you can get list after list. What you select to put into your body as fuel will reflect on how you look and how you feel. That, like it or not, is a given.  I have given you many healthy choices and I am sure you know that donuts, candy, wine, junque food etc. are not your friends. Joan Rivers used to say: “A minute on the lips, a lifetime on the hips.” She was right and we all know it.

Tune in next time for a special issue of PINK and a different kind of Uphill Skating article. We will get down and dirty and talk about not diet, not exercise, but some of the other things in ur lives which may not be quite so good for our health!

Skating Uphill-February 2014

PINK Magazine

By Judith Lawrenson

Sometimes facts do not have to be cold or hard, but they must be true, ladies, or they are not really facts, are they?     “The Uphill Skater”

Last month I promised that I would share some real truths about why you may not be feeling better and why you may not be losing any weight. As I write this I am finding it very difficult not to be trite or corny or repetitive. So often when we read these types of things they seem to be all alike.  Oh, you should eat less. Maybe you should exercise more. Have you tried the latest diet in PEOPLE Magazine? Walk 5,000 steps per day. I could go on and on, and probably any or all of these things are true for many people, but I would like to go deeper than that.

It may be, by the way,  that your plateau is as simple as miscalculation. That is the most common reason. By that I mean that there are errors in the figuring of calories in calories out. This could be a result of not finding the actual calories in foods or losing track of portion control. It could also be the result of incorrect expectations regarding exercise. That is, as we all tend to do, saying that you will exercise off that binge, or saying that a particular amount of exercise equaling a set amount of calories will work every day every time. Remember that diet is 90% of weight loss and exercise is 10%. That is a fact.

In the interest of perhaps opening a different door, I will share with you that I find that the hardest thing for me personally is to do what psychologists call eating mindfully. I have years and years of very bad eating habits and not that many years of healthy living. I would guess that many of us are in this same boat. I buy things I like at the store-salty things are my downfall. I used to actually find myself in the fridge or pantry eating and almost not knowing what I was doing. I could be thinking that I was not supposed to do this while I was actually doing it.

For a long time, I thought that I was the only person in the universe who was capable of doing something so stupid. Then I saw an article in a magazine that showed me that not only was I not the only one, it was quite a common problem and actually had a name. Non-mindful eating is a real thing that people do-who knew? Anyway, try to eat mindfully. That is think about what you are doing to your lovely body that is the only one you will ever get.  Look at that body in a full length mirror and think about loving what you see.

All that having been said, I must now get to what I must call the “cold, hard, facts” that we have all been avoiding. Facts and truths can be very hurtful and especially so to those who are feeling down, sad, or depressed about their health or their weight. I am not a counselor or a Doctor, but I can speak from personal experience. Things like grief eating, emotional eating and spite eating are very real.

Years ago I worked with a high school girl who burst in to tears when I spoke to her about weight loss. It turned out that she was terrified that if she lost weight she would no longer have an excuse for not making the team, not having friends, not being a cheerleader, and even not getting good grades. She blamed it all on being fat. It was her easy way out. This also, like non-mindful eating, is not uncommon. You know that there are adults who do the same thing. Depression, being totally inactive or anti-social, binge eating or eating and purging are causes for serious concern.  Boy do I hate to say this, but please do think about it and if you are in this situation try to talk to someone about it because you are endangering your life and health.

I am normally upbeat in this column and even give us a laugh at ourselves sometimes and that is a good thing. Looking at the lighter side of life is very healthy. Self examination is also healthy. Sometimes looking ourselves in the eye realistically can be very powerful. Often it can reveal truths that are difficult to face. If you are not feeling that you are your best self, do not hesitate to start your “new you” project with a complete physical. I know this is an expense, but perhaps if you speak to your Doctor or try a health clinic there will be alternatives available. Don’t be afraid or discouraged. Do this for YOU. You deserve to be your very best self.

Pink Magazine-January 2014

“Skating Uphill”     By  Judith Lawrenson

“The new year is a special time for re-evaluation and recommitment so let’s get off our collective butts and DO it! We can all “BE” our best selves.”

                                                               The Uphill Skater

Every New Year I make resolutions and for the most part I really try to stick to them and I sometimes succeed up to maybe even March or April. There is the rare time, though, that I actually think it through and take a look at myself and honestly make a resolution and stick to it. I do something to make myself a better person.

One of these resolutions was made two years ago and, as you are probably tired of hearing, had to do with weight loss. I did it. I lost and have kept off thirty three pounds. I also adopted several healthy eating habits that not only helped with the weight loss but improved my life as a whole. You will read many suggestions for resolutions in anything from magazines to the web but my suggestions are different. Yes, ladies, I have been honest and realistic so I can encourage you also to be honest and yes, even get real about being your best self.  Here goes so don’t tune out until you hear me out. These are my three best resolutions ever.

First, and most important, is to accept your own personal behavioral history. Look yourself in the eye and face up to your failures. This is not so hard when I tell you that the next thing to do is look yourself in the eye and congratulate yourself on all of your successes. Finally, you guessed it-try to figure out why you failed one time and succeeded the other. If you can do this with a high degree of very cold logic and soul searching, you will be able to make some serious resolves that have a very high chance of success.

Just as an example, after reading in many places about the value of an 8 ounce glass of water first thing in the morning, I decided to do it. As it turned out, it was easy. I brush my teeth every morning and now I use my same glass and just drink the bathroom tap water. The glass is right there, the water is right there, and I am right there.  It is easy. Easy is good. Easy stays around. Easy becomes a habit. Yes, habits can be good!

Habits can also be bad and one of my worst was to treat the grocery store like a field trip. I love to cook and I love to eat and I also know that all food decisions are made at the grocery store not the fridge or the pantry or the shelf. I decided to shop with a list and not to go off of that list. That one was not easy. In fact it was quite hard. I am still not totally there but boy am I better. Better is good too and may eventually lead to full success-Don’t beat yourself up if you are moving in the right direction even if you are moving a bit slowly.

That brings me to the second to my second resolution. Look for flexibility. If you don’t, you will set yourself up for failure. Don’t say you will never eat a fatty salad dressing again. Don’t say you will only eat organic. Don’t say you will lose four pounds a week. I could go on and on with things I have said to myself and I know you have said those same things and more. We all have and we all know it. Give yourself a break. Do your best when you can. I don’t mean be a slacker or stop trying. I mean know yourself well enough to realize when you are doing the best that you can do. Remember it is always and only about YOU in the long run.

Finally, and of the utmost importance-Set small goals. You would be amazed at what small changes can do for your life. Walk a bit more. Get up a little earlier. Only have one glass of wine and make it red. Drink water with meals. Look at your morning or look at your day. Don’t look at changing your whole life all at once. That is very overwhelming. Instead think about wearing comfortable shoes tomorrow so that you can walk a bit more in your day. Just as an added motivation, I read the other day that if you walk one half hour per day-even just that-you reduce your chance of becoming pre-diabetic by over 70%. Try unsweetened tea instead of soda. Try frozen yogurt or a Weight Watchers ice cream bar instead of full fat ice cream. Cut your baked potato in half and use the other half the next morning in a veg and egg omelet. I could go on and on, but you get the idea. Just look at changing a few things that you know you should and could improve. Do this for a week then get on the scale. Surprised??  Good for you.

So, tune in next week when we will talk about some cold hard facts about why you don’t feel better and why you may not be losing any weight at all when you really want to look like Gweneth Paltrow and know you could if only……

PINK Magazine

“Skating Uphill” – PINK Magazine

By Judith Lawrenson

Article for November Issue

“If you are not blocking the aisle, you are not spending enough time reading labels!”

The Uphill Skater

Greetings from the grocery aisle at your local store. I am standing here reading the labels of various products and wondering in fascination how in the world to make sense of all of this. This did not used to be so important even in light of fat content, calories and protein. In my opinion, great importance has been added lately due to the fact that prices are literally quadruple for some of the “same” items that I regularly purchase.

To that end, I have done some research into the definitions we see on labels that have virtually no explanation attached to them. Some of these tags have very clear guidelines while others are not defined and have no enforcement agency or certification for their claims.  What a rip-yes indeed, you are really skating uphill when it comes to seemingly simple purchases.

Perhaps the most frequently seen tag is 100% Organic. This is actually a legitimate designation. This means that all ingredient,  processing aids, and additives, must be certified and the certifying agency is usually the USDA. (United States Department of Agriculture) The next designation is ORGANIC which is a little less well defined. These products must be 95% organic. The other 5% must be products that are on a list somewhere and have to do with washing and packaging.

The designation “Natural” usually relates to poultry, eggs and meat. This means no artificial ingredients and minimal processing. This tag is frequently seen and in fact is not really clarified. What it is understood to mean is that the product has not been enhanced with artificial ingredients or additives. This means no color injected to meat or fish, and no flavor boosters such as MSG has been added. This term is not one that I would pay more to get.

The term “Fair Trade” has nothing to do with product quality. It is usually certified by nongovernmental organizations and relates to wages, country of origin, and some non-specific environmental practices. I also do not pay extra to have this designation. My personal feeling is that I do not see the value. It is partly a personal or political statement regarding the import and or labor practices of other countries and I cannot pin down who or what I am helping by paying more. If you can, or you have a cause, most commonly it is coffee, then that is your decision, of course.

The other grocery item that we all buy is eggs. Boy, what a lot of confusion. I have seen eggs priced from $1.29 up to $7.99 per dozen. Everywhere from Wal-Mart to Whole Foods egg prices defy reason.  You will see terms like Free Range, Cage Free, Grass Fed, and No Added hormones bandied about freely with very little explanation for the huge price differences. (By the way, some of these terms like Grass Fed and No Added Hormones or Hormone Free and also used in meat products. Beef, pork, chicken and even fish are labeled and priced accordingly in the butcher section.)

Generally Cage Free is the most misused of all of the “egg” terms. The chicken may not be in a cage, but they can be confined in an area that has little room for movement and limited access to food and water. The most common misuse of this term comes from eggs that are from the egg capital of the world-Petaluma California. I grew  up on a farm near their so I have seen a lot chicken and egg wise. In Petaluma and other big chicken places the birds are in what they call porches. That is a large but very full screened in area. I am not saying this is wrong, just know what it means and that Cage Free is a bit of a loose term.

Free range means that chickens and other poultry for that matter are free to roam. It does not define what they eat. Many free roaming poultry are fed other animal bi-products. The top of the “pecking order” egg wise free range vegetarian fed. These eggs will cost quite a bit more, but in my humble opinion this is something that is worth it. The eggs actually have less fat and more protein. They are lower in carbohydrates too. Interesting, huh?

Finally perhaps the most vague label of all is the classic, “No Added Hormones.” My question is if there are no more hormones added, how many are there in the beginning? This designation has no certification either so do check carefully for other label info before you shell out extra grocery dollars for this type of product.

I hope this has been helpful. I now expect to see you blocking the aisle, and reading. We all have to buy groceries, but we do not have to pay for what we do not receive. Check it out and of course if you feel there is value in what you determine is your personal choice, good for YOU!

Tune in next month when we will discuss the ins and outs of poo poo and pee pee. No, whoops, I did not mean to say that. I meant to say tune in next week when we will discuss liquid intake and fiber output. There has been much discussion lately about how much water we need to drink and how much fiber we should ingest to keep our healthy bodies “on the go” so to speak. Insight will be shared into what it all means.  Keep skating uphill. When you reach the top, the view is worth it!

Skating Uphill by Judith Lawrenson

PINK Magazine

Fall, 2013

So, last month I promised to discuss the various ways in which our very best efforts can actually be sabotaged by our very best friends. Please notice I have used the words “very best” twice. I will use it again because I honestly think that people’s hearts are in the right place and they are intending to do the “very best” they can to help, make us feel better about ourselves.  If I did not really try to believe this I could get very angry and so will you when you read some of the things that have been said to those of us who “skate uphill” to really try to keep up that healthy paradigm.

I got the idea for this article when a friend of mine told me that her husband continually told her that she did not need to lose weight because he loved her just the way she was. I know this is intended to help and to not make one’s loved one feel bad about themselves, but you surely can see that if this person loved herself and was happy just the way she was, she would not be trying to make changes.  I have heard this particular comment before myself, among others, so I decided to ask around women friends who have been really making the effort to keep it up and see if I could detect some sort of pattern here. Boy, was I shocked. In just a couple of visits over coffee and a few phone calls, I amassed over 15 “helpful comments” that were made to “encourage” those people who are actively trying to make changes for the better. Have you heard any of these from people who are trying to “help” you?”

You have done so well with your food all day today. Let’s go out to dinner to celebrate.

1. I made this just for you.
2. This is my specialty. Just try a little.
3. If you don’t want to eat this, then what DO you want?
4. Don’t lose any more weight-your skin will sag and you will look old and haggard.
5. You look sick. Have you lost weight?
6. If you are at a plateau, that means you are at the correct weight and your body has stabilized.
7. Come on, I thought this was your favorite. This is a variation on “I made this just for you.”
8. I miss the way we used to share: ice cream in the evenings, a glass of wine, going out to dinner, cooking together, experimenting with desserts…..You get the idea.
9. This is pretty low cal. I made it with margarine, not butter.
10. Don’t lose weight for me. I like a little meat on the bone.
11. Skinny people are NOT healthy. This was my grandma’s favorite.
12. I am buying this for me. You don’t have to have any if you don’t want to.
13. And finally, as one husband said to his wife, in front of the kids: “Don’t worry, kids. Mom will go off this diet pretty soon like all the others and then we will get some real food again!”

I am sure you can think of many more of these gems, and this is not the least of it. We are surrounded by advertisements for luscious restaurant food and slim, beautiful models drinking wine and telling you how good things taste. I have often thought that they spit it all out the minute the photo shoot is done.

Finally, and I have saved the worst for last, the most difficult sabotage person to fight is yourself. I know this to be a fact from my own weight loss experiences. I rationalize. I do it in the store, I do it at the fridge, and I do it in my pantry. I do it at parties and restaurants too. I tell myself that I can exercise it off tomorrow when I know that you have to add extra hours, not minutes, to get rid of even a hundred calories. I say I am only going to have a taste then wind up with a plateful. I buy my beloved salty snax at the grocery store and while I am putting them in the cart I am telling myself I am not going to eat them. I’m sorry, but how stupid is that? I love those wafer thin pretzels with crunchy peanut butter and the bag literally calls out loud to me if I have it in the pantry. How does anybody actually keep on track at all with of these things around to undermine efforts? Well, If you “Skating Uphill” last month, you will know that it is all about motivation. It is about caring for yourself and wanting to be the best person you can be and live your best life. This attitude also projects out from you to those around you and believe me, it is highly contagious.

Yes, I know this sounds very corny and I know it is easy to say and hard to do. I have done it, remember.  All I can say, and I say this honestly to you from my heart, is that you have to want it. You have to really want it for you.

Tune in next time for more than you wanted to know about food definitions. What is organic? How is that different from natural or organically grown or pure? You will be surprised at some of the label meanings and also be enabled to determine the value for money of different product lines. Lots of important information so don’t miss it!