The "8" Rules

{I'll expand upon each of these in separate articles.}

Rest {hibernate}

Sleep between the hours of 10 pm and 6 pm. The hours slept before 12 are the most important. When you stay awake late, especially after 12 you will become a more efficient fat storer (increasing fat storage by 30-40%). Also, you will tend to get hungry and eat to stay awake-FOOD IS FUEL and your body  needs it stay awake (energy). The food eaten at this time will primarily work itself into fat stores. Drink water instead, if you find yourself up at late hours. This is one of the few times I will encourage you to make yourself go hungry. There is no biological reason you need to eat to stay awake, unless you are a college student or a caveman. 

*8 hours of sleep, especially before 12. 

Drink Water {hydrate} 

Keep a glass of water everywhere-in the kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, studio, office, purse. Every time you pass by take a few sips-or the whole glass-and refill it for the next time you pass. Start your day with a full glass of water before anything else and end with one before bed.

*8-10 glasses of water all throughout your day, not all at once, for proper hydration. 

The Rule of Half {moderate}

1. Look at your plate.
2. Eat half.
3. Rest, talk, drink.

*Repeat if hungry, up to 2 times

This will give your brain and stomach time to communicate-hunger receptors. You'll avoid overeating, since you are eating more slowly, and you'll never eat the whole plate. This accomplishes mindfulness, pacing, and portion control all at once-3 key factors in eating. I don't care if the last bite left on your plate is literally 1 bite, or large crumbs. Train yourself NOT to be a member of the clean plate club. 

*1/8 left on your plate.

Print this out and post on your fridge. Keep a copy on you in your purse or at your office. Retrain your brain how you should eat, sleep, and drink (or hibern8, hydr8, and moder8).  

Eating with Momma

So, the older I have gotten the more it has become apparent that my mom has saved me a lot of trouble in life. Most importantly, in eating patterns and approach to food. People always think I must diet like crazy or want to know what diet I follow. I don't. Period. As I've stated before, Diet is a four letter word (this is my mantra-among others like: If momma ain't happy, nobody's happy). I L-O-V-E FOOD. I eat deliciously, indulgently, without restriction, with moderation. Confused? So are most. 

I've noticed that most people have trouble with moderation. Not just with food, but with pretty much everything. We are a society of extremists: I'll do it all the way or not at all. Instead of moderating, they would rather cut it out or avoid it like a disease, or purge endlessly on it. I cannot for the life of me understand this. Moderation and balance are key for almost everything, but never so important in life as food. 

When I was growing up, we were taught portion control in a very sneaky way. Honestly, I don't know if my mother realized she was doing it either. I noticed my grandmother was the same way and I'm sure that her mother did the same and so on and so forth. Let me give you an example. When we were allowed a mid-day snack after school, we were to take the bag of chips (because there was only one at a time!) from the pantry. We then poured out a handful of chips on a napkin or plate. We then wrapped the bag of chips back up and put it back into the pantry. Then, we could sit down at the table and eat our chips. We were NEVER allowed to sit down with the bag on the table or, MY GOD!, eat from the bag (dirty, gross). We had to sit down and enjoy our small portion of salty potatoes, and it made us eat slowly because we wanted to savor every last bite, since there were no seconds-ever. Even later in the day, if we wanted chips, mom would say, "You already had chips. Eat something else. Or go drink some water (we always had a glass of water on the table)." It made us into very mindful eaters-really thinking about the food we were eating. To this day, my sister and I still eat this way-portioned out, sitting down, eating mindfully. And we have never had to worry about our weight, it has always been kept in check. 

Don't get me wrong, this drove us nuts when we were growing up. And we definitely didn't eat this way when we were over at other people's houses. But it is what we've reflexively gone back to, especially as mothers. Because it works. And all of our children are very athletic and active, with bodies to match. There is no extra weight on any of them. I feel that this is an accomplishment when so many are struggling with weight battles with themselves and their children. Childhood is the time that eating patterns are set. We can do our children a huge favor if we adhere to healthy patterns and can then teach it to our children in words and action. 

So think about it. How did you grow up, with relation to food? What were your parents like?  What did they teach you? You may have to reprogram yourself and redevelop a healthier relationship with food. 

More on this later, just a little food for thought!

This is from Karen Le Billon of French Kids Eat Everything. Nutrition and our relationship to food starts in childhood. This is so important for parents to "get". Read this book!