How do you like your lemonade?

“When you can make lemonade from life’s lemons, your glass will always be full.” – Nancy Carlson

(Editors Note: I am attributing that to Nancy ’cause I never heard it before!)

Life always throws us curveballs. We are not in control of so many things that each day we have to adjust and make new plans. In the long run, most of these are just small irritations. But these small irritations can have a big affect on our waistline!

You have heard us say it before – all of us are emotional eaters on some level. We eat when we are happy, we eat when we are sad, we eat to be social, we eat when we feel like being anti-social.

On the purely foundational level, we need to eat to survive – to keep the biochemical reactions in our bodies functioning at a high level.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t sit down before I eat and think – “How will this bowl of ice cream affect how I feel tomorrow”. More likely it’s something like “These kids are driving me nuts, and I need that bowl of ice cream to keep from throwing them out the window”.

When you eat are you eating to nourish your body or just to alleviate stress?  Part of the challenge is we often really are hungry during those emotional times, and we reach for the “comfort food”.

The #1 tip I can give you? Don’t have your favorite “stress reliever” food in the house, or office or car, or wherever. You WILL eat it. You don’t need to eat junk, and neither do your spouse or kids. The “my kids like it” excuse doesn’t fly. If it’s not good for you, what makes it good for them?

Eating 5 or 6 small meals throughout the day will help alleviate those insistent hunger pangs that creep up at the worst times. If your body has been consuming quality nutrition through the day, you are less likely to binge.

But what happens when you are out, planning on being home at a certain time then road construction blocks your path? Or you have to wait in a very long line at the bank and that is only your first stop?  What about when the meeting at work goes over and you are not able to take a lunch break? Bring healthy snacks with when you are out so you aren’t tempted to stop at a fast food drive-thru or visit the candy machine. You never know what life will throw at you but you can be prepared.

Easy snacks that travel well

• ¼ cup of almonds in a zip lock baggie
• Carrot sticks, celery sticks, and green peppers
• Trail mix- walnuts, raisins, sunflower seeds, coconut, almonds, craisins sealed in a zip lock baggie (avoid the store bought blend as they tend to add chocolate chips, think of that in a warm car)
• One scoop of your favorite protein powder to be mixed with the water in your water bottle
• Dried fruit – prunes, apricots, raisins, etc…. again watch for added sugar.
• Mixed nuts in a ziplock bag

Don’t forget to carry a water bottle with you too.

Remember you don’t have to always eat just to satisfy your stomach, eat to satisfy your health.

Make It Happen,

Dean & Nancy