Rosa Smith-Montanaro blog
Rosa Smith-Montanaro is your virtual weight loss and wellness coach. She is the author of Mind Over Platter®: Train Your Brain to Think Thin and the award-winning creator of www.MindOverPlatter.com. Rosa is a certified Success Coach with an expertise in weight management and the mind/body connection. She is also certified at the Master level in Hypnosis, Neuro Linguistics Programming (NLP), Thought Field Therapy
TM (TFT), Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT), Herbal Specialist and Humanistic Neuro Linguistic Psychology. Rosa teaches seminars throughout the country on the mind/body connection and how to create a life that is a reflection of your values. Rosa and her husband live in Greece and have three children. She welcomes you to blog with her and discover how you can create a healthier, happier and balanced life. Rosa can be reached at MindOverPlatter@aol.com.
A fat burning meal using a color coding system
When you think of a food that contains fat:
olive oil, cheese, nuts, butter, mayonnaise, think of the color orange. The preferred fats are essential fatty acids and most of the ones I listed have protein in then as well.
Do the same thing when you see or think of an
impact carb: pasta, potatoes, fruit, desserts, rice, bread, all sweets, peas, corn, beets, etc think of the color blue.
When you see, smell or taste a
vegetable think green!
Condition the colors to the food group every chance you get, then when it is time to eat pick one from each group:
Protein (Red) +
Fat (Orange) +
Impact Carbs (Blue) +
Vegetables (Green) =
a fat burning meal
Think of Red when you think of Protein
I am back from my vacation and we had a wonderful time. I went out on the boat a couple of times on the Chesapeake Bay. If you know me, you know I don't swim and I am hesitant about putting myself in the middle of a large body of water. This is the year that I am expanding my comfort zone and got a chance to prove it. I will post pics once I get them on my computer. Until then, let's talk weight management.
This week I have been encouraging my members to continue putting their food into categories. When you think of a protein based food:
meat, eggs, tofu, chicken, fish, turkey, duck, hamburger, steak, ribs, lobster, crab, shrimp, cold cuts, ham, pork, soy products, protein drinks, think and say to yourself the name of the food and the word
red.
This will create an association, in hypnosis, we make suggestions that allow your brain to effortless associate what you want to something pleasant. Repetition is what creates associations, think about a time you made a funny face when you looked at a baby, if the baby smiled and you felt good, you automatically link the two in your brain.
Away on vacation
I will be away on vacation from August 18-25, 2008. I look forward to blogging for you when I return.
Color Coding Your Meals
I have adjusted to Rozetta being away, she isn't far and we have been able to talk everyday. She is so excited that it makes me excited for her. The fun of youth! Now I am back to creativily communicating on how to eat healthy and lose weight, here is my next brain storm to help my visual readers.
Color Coded MEAL Planning
Think of food in color blocks and only pick one from each category:
Red = Protein: 6 oz of protein based product such as poultry, seafood, beef, pork, eggs, tofu, soy and whey are all examples of protein.
Green = Vegetables: one cup of any vegetable that is not sugar or starch based, (potato, beets, corn and peas have a high sugar content).Orange = Fat: a moderate serving of fat such as olive oil, butter, mayonnaise, peanut butter, cream cheese, dairy products are all considered sources of fat. I would add cheese and nuts to this category, even though cheese and nuts have protein, if you eat them with something from the Red group, count as fat as well.
Blue = Impact Carbs: one small serving from this group. This is any sugar based food, sucrose (straight sugar like candy and desserts), fructose (fruit, juice and dried fruit), lactose (milk, sweetened yogurt, ice cream , etc) and glucose (flour based products, grains, such as pasta, potatoes, rice, corn, peas, rice, beans, etc)
Comfort food for those bittersweet days
Today was one of those bittersweet days, my daughter Rozetta had to go back to school today. She is an RA and attends a SUNY college, not far from home but resides there and today we moved into her new dorm. She is excited about her new role working with 40 students but is going to miss her friends from high school that she has been enjoying the summer break with.
I too am excited for her as well as the exceptional young adults she has as friends. I have enjoyed having them around the house and hearing about their adventures. I LOVE being a mom and having a house full of kids, it makes me smile inside to see them full of life and finding every excuse to laugh at themselves, each other and even me. You can tell, I was not ready to pack Rozetta up, the summer break ended too soon. I wanted a couple more weeks, fall is when kids go to school and my mind is conditioned to expect that, but college is different and I must adjust.
We took our traditional trip into town to buy some items for her barren room and then out for dinner and as I ordered my meal, I did something I NEVER do, I added a side of mac and cheese. My family looked at me like I said a bad word, I announced "I need some comfort food." Needless to say, they knew better than to disagree. Unfortunately it wasn't as comforting as I hoped, maybe I like the unhealthy, artery clogging kind out of the box, but I got it out of my system. Sometimes we need to indulge in comfort food and then get over it. There was a time in my life where that would have kicked off a binge, now it is an episode and I take a look at myself and what is going on in my life. I knew what was going on, I just didn't what to spoil my daughter joy, she is happy and I am happy for her as well. The realization that time as passed and my little girl is now a beautiful and independant woman does move me to tears. I am okay with tears, but was trying to manage it for the moment.
Once we dropped off Rozetta and I knew I could be honest with myself, I felt sad, I am going to miss that dramatic daughter of mine. I knew better than to return to comfort food, instead I talked to my husband about my feelings, called my mother, wrote in my journal, took a hot bubble bath and just let myself feel sad. I believe we should experience our feelings. There are so many ways to comfort ourselves, the important thing is to take the time to take care of you during those bittersweet days.
I called Rozetta to say "good night" and she has made friends and already has plans to watch a movie this evening. All is well, even though I still feel a bit sad, I already feel better. Hearing how happy she sounded and that she has adjusted so well coupled with my validating my feelings lifted my mood and reassured me that she is exactly where she needs to be. We are all where we need to be in life.
Be careful what you wish for...
I meant to write about something totally different today, but with change being so good, I got off track. I changed positions at my day job and love what I will be doing but have a learning curve. What I know about myself is that when I don't perform at the level that I expect from myself, it brings up old negative feelings. The good news is that I have resources and am able to push past doubt and remind myself that I too am only human and change is not successful, unless we push past our comfort zone.
I talk about this with you not because I want approval or sympathy, but to share with you in the hope that it will inspire you to not settle for the old negative lies that we blindly live by. It is in facing our fear and saying "you don't scare me anymore" that we become free from it and find a whole new reality.
Based on my ability to acknowledge who I am and what I allow to limit myself and moving past it, I have a new level of acceptance and know that change is good and the discomfort in growing is only temporary. Next month at this time, I will be efficient in my new position and feel as if I had been doing it for years.
After reading this blog entry to my daughter Rozetta, she said it reminded her of a quote she likes by Gail Sheehy "If we don't change, we don't grow. If we don't grow, we are not really living. Growth demands a temporary surrender of security."
Change is Good!
Change is good is my theme for the week. I watch people labor and worry about their everyday lives resisting to make a change that will ultimately enrich their self esteem and overall experience. Why do we hold ourselves back? Could it be because we unconsciously believe that what we are experiencing is our destiny or fate? If so, this fear is rooted in a belief that we get what we deserve and today's results are displaying evidence of this.
Do you unknowingly believe that you get what you deserve in life? Did you grow up hearing people say "that's what you get"? I sure did and when something bad happened to me, the first comment from the committee, (the people from my past who judged me harshly), is "that's what you get...what did you expect?" So the fortunate people who were reaping great things deserve it more. I hope you can see where this line of thinking is going...NOwhere fast.
What if I told you that this belief is a LIE! It is not based in truth, it is based on fear and doubt which was passed down from someone who was feeling afraid and uncertain themselves. I am willing to bet that they too heard it from someone who was feeling worried and fearful. Who knows why this type of belief originated, but what I can tell you is that this belief and mind set did NOT originate with you. It does not define you and it not your truth. You are wiser and have far more resources than your ancestors. You can choose to believe whatever you choose and you can create experiences that are mind-boggling and magnificent. You deserve to experience a wonderful life that reflects health, harmony and happiness.
It's about time for a change, and change is good! Decide what you need to change in your life, decide that you deserve it right here and now. To help your subconscious mind accept this change, here is an assignment for you:
1. Start a journal and write down what you want to change.
2. Record ten reasons this change would be good for you.
3. List ten people who experience what you want in their lives today. You don't have to personally know them.
4. Close your eyes, and imagine you have accomplished this positive change, pretend it really happened.
5. Open your eyes and write in your journal ten reasons why you are grateful for what you just experienced.
6. Review what you have written daily to reinforce the change at the deepest level of your subconscious mind.
