Meal Mentor

How to Turn Your Regrets into Motivation

This may shock you…

but I think “screwing up” can be beneficial.

Detours on the highway to health make you appreciate the fast lane :)

Regret is a great teacher

and a powerful MOTIVATOR.

How often do you go back to the very thing that ruins your happiness?

Or your success?

To prevent this, pause briefly before taking an action to recall how you felt doing it in the past.

For example, when you’re staring down a tempting doughnut in the breakroom, recall how you felt the last time you ate a sugary treat.

If you’re like me, you felt droopy and bloated (AND blamed yourself for 2 days).

This trick works in a POSITIVE manner too!

If you’re looking at the Eggplant Involtini or Lemony Kale & Quinoa Salad and aren’t feeling it -- maybe you’re desiring junky takeout, think about how good you felt the last time you ate a healthy meal…

The pure energy and self-pride…

Think big picture.

Use regret as your motivation to do better next time.

Slip ups make you realize you really aren’t missing out.

That it didn’t taste as good as you remembered…

That it’s TRUE: Nothing tastes as good as healthy feels.

When you fall down, get back up, dust yourself off, and try again.

Will you EMPOWER yourself instead of beat yourself up?

If so, share your motivating regret in the comments below.

TOMORROW I’ll share how you can make up for what’s happened.

Gene Baur Podcast

A new Meal Mentor podcast is up and ready for you!

In this episode I chat up animal hero Gene Baur about living compassionately, staying positive and plant-based in a non-vegan world, and his new book, Living the Farm Sanctuary Life: The Ultimate Guide to Eating Mindfully, Living Longer, and Feeling Better Every Day.

His advice for leading by example, preaching positivity, and embracing the journey, is hugely inspiring. Gene shares our “progress not perfection” motto and defines veganism and plant-based as an aspiration because life is never black and white.

Get the current meal plan now.

The Most IMPORTANT Exercise

You already know that it’s your OVERALL nutrition that determines success.

That you have to be CONSISTENT.

Because 1 gallon of premium gas with 12 gallons of the cheap stuff isn’t going to make a big difference in your performance.

Health (and weight-loss) can only come out of consistency…

Repetitively doing what needs to be done is the heart of maintenance and peak performance.

BUT there is still one EXTREMELY IMPORTANT exercise you must do to lose weight.

WRITE DOWN EVERYTHING YOU EAT.

More than sit ups or push ups or running marathons, keeping accountable of what goes in the mouth is the clincher.

Any time a member comes to me about a plateau, I require they keep a detailed food journal.

They often scoff, “I follow the meal plans! What else do you need to know?”

But before long they catch themselves.

They never realized just how many pieces of candy “here and there” they ate (that seem small and inconsequential at the time but quickly add up), or how much mindless munching they do while cooking or socializing… or even how many glasses of wine they had cumulatively over the week.

(Doing this exercise for a month also helps you uncover patterns that need correction.)

Take it from Ron:

The book Mindless Eating has a fascinating study about chicken wings -- and how leaving the bones on the table made diners eat substantially less.

(Those with bussed tables ate 28% more!!!)

Our stomachs can’t count and we don’t remember.

Unless we can actually see what we’re eating (or have eaten), we can very easily overeat.

Wansink’s research reinforces the importance of keeping yourself accountable.

AND HAVING A PLAN IN PLACE.

You have to set yourself up for success. Pre-plan what you’ll eat because...

We’re TERRIBLE at estimating how many calories we’ve eaten.

Even RDs and nutritionists have bombed in studies where they were asked to estimate a portion or an amount of calories.

We default to underestimating calories consumed and overestimate calories burned.

(Not a good combo!!)

Remove the margin of error with this week’s meal plan.

We improve what we measure.

If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.

Should You Eat Back Your Exercise Calories?

Does this sound familiar?

“I’ve got to eat to fuel my workout”

“Time for my recovery shake”

The pre- and post-workout supplement business is a BIG business.

And largely a scam.

Unless you are underweight or doing extreme exercise for over 1 hour, you don’t need added nutrition.

ESPECIALLY if you’re trying to lose weight.

Your body naturally stores 1200 or more calories of “ready to use” energy (your glycogen) which will power you through a workout.

PLUS what you eat before or after exercise is a fairly insignificant portion of your overall diet.

Consider this: If you put 1 gallon of premium gas in your car with 12 gallons of the cheap stuff, is it really going to make a difference in the car’s performance?

Would even one full tank of premium matter all that much in the life of the car?

For top performance your overall diet matters. It’s about good maintenance.

You have to be consistent…

Because your body is building, recovering, and maintaining 24/7.

But there’s a BIGGER problem.

It’s easy to overestimate calorie burn and underestimate calorie consumption.

(Even the more expensive apps and gadgets grossly overestimate what you’ve burned.)

If you eat back the calories you think you expend during exercise, you’ll unintentionally undermine your efforts to lose weight.

(And you already know that exercise can be a hidden form of self-sabotage… “I can eat more because I exercised”)

Eating systematically (especially when you don’t feel hungry) also overrides your hunger cues which can negatively affect future satiety AND corrupt your appestat (appetite thermometer).

Intuitively, you know a single post-workout shake, or pre-workout meal will have minimal impact on your overall nutrition.

And it’s your OVERALL nutrition, not acute meal-timing, that determines performance.

AND HEALTH + weight-loss!!

Moral of the story: Unless you’re a high performance athlete or trying to gain weight, chances are you don’t need pre- and post-workout nutrition.

But you DO need to be consistent with your diet.

Having a game plan will keep you on track. If you’re hungry and without good options, you’ll fall victim to junk foods, cancelling out all that good exercise!

Fuel your body the right way with nutritionally balanced meals like the Baked Bolognese, Cinnamon Toast Quinoa, Mango BBQ Sliders & Pineapple Vegetable Rice -- all on this week's meal plan!

That being said, there *IS* still one EXTREMELY IMPORTANT exercise you must do.

Tomorrow I’ll share the MOST IMPORTANT exercise critical to weight-loss

P.S. You DO need to replenish your fluids post workout -- so drink water. AND if you ever feel wobbly or lightheaded, that’s usually a sign you’ve depleted your glycogen. Eat simple carbohydrates for fast relief.

Your Fool-Proof Strategy for Avoiding the See-Food Trap

You already know that looking at food, especially SEXY pictures of food, can activate your desire to eat, even in the absence of true physiological hunger!!

BUT you can use this vulnerability to your ADVANTAGE!

It starts with keeping alluring, hand-to-mouth foods out of sight.

Next, give healthy foods high visibility.

Cooking your meals for the week is the first step!

Store your meals in clear containers, front and center.

(Because if they’re in your face, they’ll remind you to eat them.)

Don’t sequester them off to the freezer or drawers…

Remember: the most important factor is your environment (not your will!)

You have to set yourself up for success.

Having a game plan will make you less vulnerable.

If you’re hungry and without good options, you’ll become more vulnerable to cues.

Guide yourself to healthier choices by using this week’s meal plan.

(Plus a pre-selected meal plan helps insulate you. Searching around for recipes (and looking at food pics) can make you overeat. AVOID that extra temptation and triggering cues.)

Beat the "see-food" trap with the Mango BBQ Sliders, Chili Quinoa Tacos, Pineapple & Vegetable Rice, Strawberry & Cream Polenta and more!

4 Ways to Beat the See-Food Trap

Yesterday you learned the “see-food diet” is REAL.

And that LOOKING at food, especially pictures of highly palatable foods (like desserts), can activate our desire to eat, even in the absence of true physiological hunger.

That it’s NOT a matter of weak will. Our hunger is ARTIFICIALLY activated…

But we can deactivate the stimulus and use this vulnerability to our advantage too!

In Sight, In Mind

The more visible and reachable a food is, the more likely you are to eat it.

For example, research shows if you have cereal on your kitchen counter, you’ll weigh 21 pounds more than your neighbor who doesn’t.

Similarly, secretaries with a clear candy dish eat 71% more candy!!

The more we see it, the more we have to expend willpower.

And eventually the temptress wins... “Well, okay, just this once...”

NOT seeing the temptation at all is easier than resisting, right?

I asked our members, “Ever get caught in the see-food trap?"

Avoiding the See-Food Trap

Wrap your kryptonite (and any unhealthy food) in foil.

Whether it’s ice cream in the freezer or your spouse’s leftover ham and cheese sandwich in the fridge, cover it with foil.

Keep cereal and other easy-to-eat items OFF your counter.

Eliminate (or severely reduce) visible food. Shove it into your pantry.

Lastly, reduce your interaction and exposure to food porn.

You already know searching around for recipes (and looking at food pics) can make you overeat. AVOID extra temptation and false cues by having Meal Mentor provide a custom menu for you each week.

Pre-selected recipes saves you time *and* limits your “cue” exposure!

Using “Eat with Your Eyes” Vulnerability In Your Favor

Store food you want your family to eat (i.e. fruits) in highly visible areas.

Put less healthy items in the fridge drawers and on lower shelves.

Place healthy snacks like pre-cut vegetables in clear containers.

Store your prepared meals in clear containers, front and center.

My husband often “forgot” I cooked our meals ahead, and would make a PB&J or open a can of beans. This frustrated me and I wondered if it was my dark-topped tupperware.

IT WAS! As soon as I switched to a see-through top, my husband never “forgot” again. He ate my prepared meal plan meals daily!

I’d even sometimes hear him say “Yess!” excited to “find” one of the options!!​

P.S. I use an 18-piece Glasslock set and love it! The containers can go straight in the oven or microwave for easy reheating +++ less work and cleanup too!