Denise Stein Chaimovitz, M.A.

I had tried 8 diets before learning how to eat properly. I always thought that dieting was a matter of willpower, and being that I had none, I considered myself weak and unable to ever achieve my ideal weight. That was until I started eating properly. All of a sudden cravings went away and it was easy to stay on the plan. When you sign on for Stash's Diets To Your Door, we do all the measuring, weighing and planning. You simply warm the food in a microwave (when necessary) and eat at the proper times. Cravings will go away and all of a sudden, weight loss will be simple.

Although there are psychological and motivational aspects to weight loss and maintaining your ideal body weight, they are much easier to conquer when your physiology is working properly. If you change what and when you eat, you will need less willpower and strength because your body won't be craving foods and you will feel much more energetic and focussed.

To achieve your weight loss goal, you simply have to commit to a few disciplines... everyday. Failure is simply a few errors in those disciplines repeated everyday. It is the accumulative weight of your discipline and judgment that leads you to success or failure. Make the right choices using a little discipline and forethought and you will be successful. Diets To Your Door minimizes the amount of willpower you will need since cravings will decrease satisfaction will increase allowing you to achieve your goals.

Dear Denise,
I am thinking about starting Stash’s Diets to Your Door and understand that we are given 3 meals and 2 snacks a day. Is it okay if I combine some of the meals and eat less often during the day?

Although some people are fearful that eating 4-6 times a day will make them weigh more, the contrary is true. Read about a study on rats that lived longer and weighed less the more often they ate!

“Many overweight people freak out at the thought of eating more frequently, thinking this will make them fatter. Actually, the exact opposite is true. The surest way to guarantee fat accumulation is to eat all your calories at one meal. It makes perfect sense if you think about it.

Compare your body to a car. If you only let yourself stop for gas once in a while, then you need a big gas tank (fuel storage) to be able to drive all day. Not only do you have to haul around a lot of fuel for later, but if you go too long without refueling, you'll have to slow way down and conserve what you have left in the tank in order not to run out of gas. If, on the other hand, you are willing to stop for gas frequently, then your car doesn't need such a big gas tank. You don't have to store nearly as much fuel, and you don't run the risk of running out of gas if you refuel frequently.

There are several animal studies that bear this analogy out. When rats are fed all their food once a day, they become overweight and die young. When the same amount of food is divided into three meals, the rats stay a normal weight and live an average life span. But, when the same amount of food is divided over six meals a day, the rats add 1-2 years to their life span and they stay lean and active! All three groups consumed the same number of calories per 24-hour period, just with different frequencies. The differences in their health were due to how their bodies had to handle the fuel they needed.

Dear Denise,

Its New Year’s Resolution time and I still need to lose weight. Any suggestions to really make it happen this time?

Instead of making yet another vow to "start a diet," which when faced with a challenge, you give up, try making a long term commitment to the future you choose to live. Instead of using pure willpower to get you through a few weeks only to fail, create a vivid future so inspiring and dramatic that nothing will get in the way of your desires. Deeply understand your reasons for trying to make the change in lifestyle and visualize your life that way.

Ask yourself or think about the following and write down the answers!

1. Why is it important for you to accomplish this goal?
2. Make a CLEAR mental image of you at your weight loss goal.
3. What will you BEHAVE like when you achieve this goal?
4. How will you feel PHYSICALLY and EMOTIONALLY when you accomplish this goal?
5. What CHANGES will happen when you reach your goal?

Knowing where you are going and why you want to be there will act as a motivator for you to make the correct choices along the path that will lead you to live the life you desire and the life you choose for yourself!

If you need help determining your path or information on how to eat in order to get you there, Call Me!! Or make it real simple and call us about Food Delivery to Your Door!

Denise

Dear Denise,

I’ve been doing really well eating Stash’s Diets to Your Door. Am down 23 pounds, actually! But St. Patty’s Day is coming, and it’s a tradition to go out and drink some (okay, a lot) of that green beer. Is it really going to hurt?

The simple fact is that alcohol will weaken your resolve and could fire up a full fledged eating binge. Drinking raises your caloric intake, messes with your hormonal levels which causes food cravings and will lower your inhibitions so that you are much more likely to consume excess food and drink.

You’ve done well, and if you choose to drink in moderation, it won’t completely ruin your efforts. After all, you need to figure out a way to enjoy your life and have the new way of eating as part of your lifestyle long term. Therefore, if you choose to drink in moderation every once in a while, then do it responsibly.

The key is CHOICE. Making a decision to do it ahead of time. Choose consciously. If you choose not to drink ahead of time, then don’t. If you choose to have a drink, then enjoy it and be responsible about it. Alcohol is an unfavorable carbohydrate, but a carbohydrate nonetheless. Therefore, if choosing to drink, don’t have any other “unfavorable” carbs for the day or with that meal. Be sure to have some protein with it and perhaps some vegetables like broccoli, green beans or cauliflower, which are more “favorable” carbohydrates. Then have a small amount of monounsaturated fat.

Alcohol has almost twice as many calories per gram than other carbohydrates or protein. Which translates into 132 to 168 calories for most beers, 85-145 calories for a 5 ounce glass of wine and 1.5 ounces of liquor has 124 calories. Add 6 ounces of a mixer to that, and you gain another 75-100 calories. And don’t forget the added calories coming from a weaker resolve after drinking. All of a sudden chips and dips don’t seem like such a bad idea.

And remember, drinks like Pina Coladas pack about 520 calories, 12 grams of fat as well as more carbohydrates than you need to eat in an entire day! A better choice is a glass of white wine. 4 ounces of that provides about 10 grams of carbohydrates and 100 calories with no fat. If you must sip on a shot of vodka, gin or rum, mix it with a non-caloric soda water or diet pop.

So remember, if you must drink, you can still make better choices. Just know that it does slow your metabolism, undermine your determination and often slows or completely stops weight loss. Maybe you should go to the gym instead!?!

Dear Denise,

What do you think of using artificial sweetners?

I asked myself that question about one year ago.  I had personally made so many healthy changes in my own life in the few years prior to that one,  every morning as I prepared my decaf coffee and added several packets of Equal to it, I had this intrinsic feeling that I was poisoning myself, then I learned why! Although Equal does not have any carbohydrates in it, it acts to raise insulin levels just like sugar. Increased insulin (and especially the quick drop in hormonal levels that can result) can lead to food cravings, hunger, fatigue and lack of mental focus.  A choice that seems to have less of an impact on insulin is Splenda. The manufacturers of Splenda have rearranged the molecules so that it does not impact insulin. It measures just like sugar, and it tastes really good too!

Stevia is another option healthier than Equal, sugar and even Splenda. It is a mostly natural substance, but is 300x sweeter than regular sugar. If you use too much, then whatever you are sweetening will taste bitter. When I tried it, I thought the bitter taste was the Stevia itself, but it actually came from using too much. So, feel comfortable using it, just be careful with the amount.

Choose Splenda or even better, Stevia over Equal and you will be making a much healthier eating choice!

Dear Denise,

I am doing intense training in preparation for a marathon. I've always been told to "carbo load" in the past, but now that I am eating a balanced diet from Stash's Diets To Your Door, I am not sure what I should do! What will happen if I increase my carbohydrate intake during exercise? And what about regular exercise when I am not training?

Performance has been shown to improve when people continue to eat in a balanced way and don't only increase their carbohydrate intake, even when exercising long distances or with great intensity. While you are doing this type of exercise, its important to rebuild cells and maintain amino acids for better performance. If you only consume carbohydrates during exercise, insulin levels will increase which prevents the release of stored energy (also known as fat) into the bloodstream. This is a good additional source of energy that can be used by the muscles and improve your performance.

You need up to 30x more blood glucose for increased energy when you do aerobic exercise. As your blood glucose drops during exercise, glucagon levels are supposed to rise. Glucagon comes from eating protein. If this doesn't happen, a secondary hormonal system comes into play in order to replenish blood sugar including cortisol and adrenaline. These hormones lead to decreased performance ability partially through increasing insulin levels.

Even when exercising at a less intense pace, we recommend that you try eating a balanced meal one hour before or a balanced snack 30 minutes prior to the workout. Then note the difference in your workout. If you are doing a long distance activity, we suggest you use a protein drink with lots of water (some have carbohydrates in them, too) or even add protein powder to an electrolyte drink that doesn't have any calories. We believe that you will perform better than by loading up on carbohydrates alone, or by not eating at all. Experiment during your training and let me know what happens!

Dear Denise,

I forgot to bring a meal with me and I ended up bingeing on jelly beans. What should I do next time?

Let's discuss other ways of eating if this happens again. Whether you don't love something that you are eating, you forget to bring your meal, you don't have time to eat or are faced with a piece of cake that has your name on it, it is important to have other options in case something entices you into making a bad eating choice. Even if things go wrong, its important to be driven enough to get past the moment and not use it as an excuse to sabatoge your healthy eating efforts.

First, look for a protein. any sort of protein (jelly beans are not a protein :) ) and take an amount that equals the size and thickness of your palm. Then grab a piece of fruit. That's it. It'll get you through. Often, just eating the protein will stop a binge! You can call me (if I don't answer, just leave me a message) as to what you did so you can get over it and not make bad choices!!! Or call me before and I can help you get past the moment.

Most bingeing or "cheating" starts with just one food item. Its an emotional response that causes a change in your hormonal levels with the release of adrenaline and cortisol. These hormones cause a rapid increase in insulin levels which tells the body to stop using fat as an energy source, thereby storing it. In other words, insulin is a large culprit in what puts you above your ideal body weight.

Just remember, the hormones will wash through your body in about 10 seconds. Its getting through those moments in a healthy way that can get you past the bad eating choices that set you off on a full fledged "binge." First, stop and ask yourself what you are feeling at the moment and try to process that. Next, you must replace the behavior with one that is incompatible with bad eating.

What can you do besides eat jelly beans? Some suggestions include taking a walk, reading a magazine article, making a phone call, picturing yourself at your weight loss goal, playing solitaire, knitting, leaving the kitchen or even brushing your teeth. When doing any of those activities, its almost impossible to binge. Make a list of things you can do that are incompatible with bad eating choices and that will get you past the moment. Then do it. And let me know what works for you
By: Denise Stein Chaimovitz, M.A.