Trials and Tribulations of Weight Loss Thursday, Oct 6 2011

 We all know that weight loss is not an easy task, especially these days with junk food everywhere around you, on TV, movies, etc…  Sometimes you feel like you just try and try your hardest to lose weight and either you just can’t get the pounds off or you can’t keep the pounds off.  But I am here to tell you that it can be done!  It is not impossible.  It may take you a lot of time to get there but you CAN get there, I promise!

For most people it really is a battle within ourselves that makes it so hard.  This internal battle can go on for years!  But if you keep at it then you can do it.  It’s not just a matter of  ”I just need to eat better”.  I think most of us really know how to eat better but it is the WHY that gets us each time.  Why or Who wants to give up sugar forever.  I know I don’t.  Who wants to give up homestyle cooking, or all carbs or never eat out again?  Again, we know WHAT to do but How do we make ourselves do it?

Well, you have to figure that out yourself but I will give you some ideas to help.  American’s today Live to EAT.  It’s everywhere and associated with everything.  We watch TV with snacks, go to movies with snacks, have company over TO EAT, go to parties TO EAT.  We need to learn to change the way we think about food!  We need to learn to EAT to LIVE.  Constantly ask yourself “Is this food I’m about to put in my body any good for me?”  ”Is it going to help my body function better or is it going to hurt me?”  Don’t think of foods as “that will go straight to my thighs, but oh well”.  Think “this will increase my chance for diabetes or heart disease”.   “This might take years off my life”,  ”This might kill me so I’m not around to see my kids grow up”.  If we looked at EVERY thing we ingest and thought about how it is going to affect my body then maybe, just maybe this will change the way I look at food.  It won’t happen overnight but if you play this in your mind each time you eat or drink something then eventually it might stick.

As some of you know I suffer from Crohn’s disease, Lupus and Polymyositis.  Talk about a downer…lol.  My Crohn’s disease took over my life in the past couple of years.  I went from doctor to doctor to try to find someone who will make me feel better.  Now my most recent doctor (whom I made listen to everything I had to say) finally found the right combination of medication to help me feel normal again.  Just after two days I am already feeling so much better.  It’s a humiliating disease and I was embarrassed to go out in public.  I literally became a recluse and I almost gave up all together as I thought I would never feel well again.  Luckily my kids are so great and I knew I had to keep fighting so I can be a normal mom again.  I actually had a doctor tell me last year that this was something I had to deal with and there was nothing that could be done and this was how it was going to be for the rest of my life!  Luckily I’m pretty stubborn and fired him and went looking for a doctor who would do something.  And she did!

I struggled with weight since I was a teenager and still struggle.  It doesn’t come naturally to me especially with my diseases that cause arthritis and extreme muscle soreness.  I have to force myself to exercise and in the end I feel better.  But before and during exercise it’s not pretty.  Struggling with the Crohn’s was very similar.  I just couldn’t give up.  I had to keep going till I met someone who could help me.  With the weight loss I tried everything out there.  I was so frustrated I decided to get a Bachelor’s Degree in Exercise Science.  And now I know what works for me.   I had to change the way I looked at food.  It didn’t happen overnight and it will continue to be a process forever.  It is something you have to do for the rest of your life.  If you really want to lose weight and keep it off you have to change your way of thinking forever!  So it’s easier to make small changes at a time but with the thought “I am making this small change for life”.  In all my years in school and research, I promise you there is no quick fix that sticks!

Not everyone can do it alone, so find a friend to do it with or hire a trainer.  You can also join a gym and get a free consultation with a trainer who can guide you to the exercises you need to do.  But if you can afford a trainer then that is a good way to be held accountable.  So find what works for you and DON’T GIVE UP!  :)

Kristina Crossway

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Running….What is it good for? Saturday, Oct 1 2011

Well I hated running when I was a teenager. We had to run for cheerleading practice and it was so hot outside and we didn’t really know much about how to prevent heat strokes, etc.. After high school some friends of mine loved to run and we ran in the morning and I was hooked! It wasn’t so hot and humid and I didn’t feel like I was going to die!

All my friends wore headphones via the Sony Walkman cassette player, lol but I didn’t like to listen to music while running. At this time, I was 25 with 3 kids and I found that I liked thinking about all my stress while I ran. And when I was done running I felt weight lifted off my shoulders and most of the stress was gone. I was tired but happy after a good run.

Typical running is an aerobic exercise which can help many systems in your body run better…like hormones, digestive system, for women (menstrual cycles) and it burns calories!
You can also run in intervals for example run slow for 3 minutes and then really fast for 1 minute and keep switching and as you get better you can change it up to 2 minutes slow and 3 minutes fast. You will burn the same amount of calories as in a normal run however with interval training it will actually help you burn calories much longer after your workout than aerobic would.

But if you must run the same pace, then doing a weight training program will help burn more calories…and NO women you will NOT get bigger by weight training. Your trainer can provide a great workout for runners specifically.

But the biggest issue to deal with if you want to be a serious runner is DIET! With many people, the more they exercise the more they eat which is natural for people who are already in shape. But for those trying to lose weight you have to pay attention to your diet. If you start eating more and you are not burning enough calories then you will gain weight. Exercise logs and Diet logs are great for this. You can put in your exercise and tell them what you ate, the program will tell you if you are burning calories or acquiring calories. You must have a daily deficit in calories to lose weight.

For those with bad knees, hips, etc…that might prevent running, then try swimming or the elliptical and the interval will work the same.

Always consult a physician before starting an exercise program.

Kristina Crossway

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Weight Loss Could Literally Save Your Life! Wednesday, Sep 21 2011

CNN Reports Cancer is linked to Obesity

Ok, I just had to add this article. New research has shown a link between obesity and cancer. Specifically, the report says that 49 percent of endometrial cancers are caused by excess body fat. That number is followed by 35 percent of esophageal cancer cases; 28 percent of pancreatic cancer cases; 24 percent of kidney cancer cases; 21 percent of gallbladder cancer cases; 17 percent of breast cancer cases; and 9 percent of colorectal cancer cases. Wow, I had no idea!

For some reason diabetes and heart disease aren’t enough to scare most people into losing weight but maybe cancer can. I’d hate to say that I’m excited about this new research report, because I’m not exactly, but I am excited about the potential of people living healthier lives because of this report. Cancer seems to scare people more so than other weight related diseases. I guess it’s because when you hear the word cancer people immediately think: chemotherapy, losing hair, being violently ill, all before getting better if that is even a possibility. I guess when people think of diabetes they think of insulin shots that don’t seem so bad and for some reason don’t think of the possibility of losing your feet. When it comes to heart disease I guess people think of having a pace maker or taking medications and not needing a heart transplant. Also if you did need a heart transplant the chances aren’t very good for an obese person getting a heart. But the big “C” really scares people. If that is what it takes for people to be scared into losing weight well then please get scared. Many obese people don’t even realize they are obese, they just think they are overweight and that they can lose it eventually.

A friend of mine was looking at some pictures of herself her mom had taken at a gathering earlier in the week and while we were looking at them she noticed one of her laying down on the couch after the gathering and there was a big ring of fat surrounding her face almost looking as if her face was being swallowed up. She asked me if she really looked that big, the dreaded question you don’t want to answer…So I asked her if I looked bigger in the picture than what I really am and she sadly said no. She knew she had gained some wait but really didn’t think it was that much or that she was obese until she saw that one picture. That is all it took and the next day she asked me to help her with an exercise program. So far she has lost an average of 2-3 pounds per week.

There are people that really and truly try to lose weight over and over again and fail. But then one day, something finally clicks with them, whether it is a picture, an article they are reading or a conversation with an old friend and they are hit with a few eye opening realizations. While they thought they were happy with the way they were, they really weren’t. Some people realize this when they try playing a sport they hadn’t played in awhile and realize they can’t do it now. Some realize it when they finally get to baby-sit their grandchild they’ve waited for so long and they just can’t keep up. Some realize it when they see a picture of themselves in a very unflattering way and then there are others who will realize it when they are told they are at risk of dying. Finding that realization can be such a memorable moment and those people who go on to lose the weight will always remember that moment.

When will you have your moment? I hope your moment can be after reading this article because I would hate for your health to be in jeopardy in the near future. Taking the first step can be hard but so worth it. It may take more than joining a gym and cutting back on some calories. For many people it is an emotional attachment, I know for me it was (and still is; I just learn to resist it most of the time). It may take a commitment of hiring a personal trainer to help hold you accountable and/or joining a support group to hear that other people struggle too and to share tips with others and get advice from a professional. Many people don’t realize that their overeating or unwillingness to exercise is due to some emotional connection either from when they were a child, teenager or college.

In my family we were taught to eat when we have something to celebrate. When anybody was sad we would bake cookies, brownies or cake. I think we had food with almost any emotion we had. Even though I managed to learn to eat healthy and attempted to teach my kids to eat healthy I didn’t realize that I was actually passing this eating with emotions on to my kids. Of course when anyone in the family did something good we went out to eat. But then if anyone had a rough day or was sad b/c a fish died or they were in a fight with a friend, there I was baking cookies to make them feel better. It dawned on me last year when my 14 year old daughter was sad b/c this boy she liked actually liked someone else and she came to talk to me and before I could say anything she said “Can we make some cookies?” There was my moment…the moment I realized I was teaching my kids the same thing my parents taught me. After all these years of school, training classes, working in the medical field, helping any and all of my friends to lose weight, exercise and eat right, I was teaching my own kids to have an unhealthy relationship with food. How do you undo that? Especially when I still want to eat brownies when I don’t feel good.

Well, I’m working on it, lol…but I’ve thought of some ways to help brake the habits without them knowing and honestly without them knowing they have the habits to begin with. From now on when someone is feeling sad then we will go out and do something fun like bowling, skating, hiking or something active the kids like. When they do something good then we celebrate by going to Six Flags or Stone Mountain. I guess I’ll have to keep cake for their birthdays and we can go out to eat just for fun without a feeling associated with it. I teach them how to make healthy options out at restaurants but we just don’t want to associate feelings with along with it.

So to sum all of that up…GO see your doctor about all the risks that are associated with being overweight, GO look at some recent pictures (or if you were like me when I was overweight I didn’t have pictures taken of me, so go get some taken) and then take a long hard look at yourself. Do you really think you are happy? Do you feel happy about the way you look? Then GO do something about it. Save your life! I think you’re important enough to save. Good Luck!

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Who’s ready for some Football?? I am! Who Dat? Friday, Sep 3 2010

Pre-season is almost over… So we’ve got Monday Night football, Sunday Night football, College football…what does all that mean? Football parties! Who doesn’t love grilling up some burgers, chips and dip, and beer? I’m sure plenty of you have your own traditional eats as well and I’m sure many aren’t counting the calories. But football season can easily pack on the pounds if you are not careful. It’s ok to splurge once in a while but if you are frequently having or attending football parties or games then you may want to plan and prepare as to not add extra weight before the holidays even get here. So here are some tips that can help you out.

For burgers try either extra lean ground beef or ground white turkey (regular ground turkey can have just as much fat as regular ground beef). Use regular size whole wheat hamburger buns as the bigger buns can pack an extra 200 calories. In fact my latest craze is using the “thin” Thomas Bagels that are only 110 calories for sandwiches and burgers but you can also use Sara Lee 90 calorie hamburger/hotdog buns. Try using just a little mayo (mayo with olive oil is even better) and you can use all the mustard you want as it is only 5 calories per serving and no fat or sugar! Really try to avoid ketchup. Ketchup has sooo much sugar in it and most people use so much of it and don’t even think to consider it part of their daily calories but if you must have it use one tbsp. For the chips try Baked Lays or even Baked Cheetos and check the bag for the serving size (about 11 chips). Try not to mindlessly eat them or you can consume multiple servings without realizing it (110 calories per serving). Salsa is always a great option for dips as it is much lower in fat and calories and it’s good for you! If you really must have some beer then opt for the lite version and limit yourself on this as well. Again many people don’t add these empty calories in and can’t understand why they won’t lose weight or keep gaining. It all adds up and one fun football party can really add up. It takes 3500 calories to add an extra pound of fat and one can easily consume this at a party without realizing it. I know it can be hard so if you blow it don’t be so hard on yourself, it is very hard to eat healthy when we have so much good food around us. It takes time and practice to have good will power. If you do blow it then try adding a couple of extra workouts in that week. (Trust me I end up doing that often, especially around the holidays, lol) Now let’s get ready for some football! Geaux Saints!

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What does “Eating Healthy” really mean? Sunday, Apr 4 2010

I meet with many clients who want to lose weight and many of them say “I eat healthy, so I don’t understand why I’m not losing weight”. I have them tell me what they eat on a typical day, which usually sounds like this: For breakfast I have oatmeal or honey nut cheerios with a piece of fruit, for snack another piece of fruit. For lunch a salad and later on I have a fruit yogurt with side of fruit. Then for dinner I have some type of meat, a salad and rice. Then for dessert, a weight watchers diet ice cream.” I ask about the “salads” and it usually consists of lettuce, spinach, bacon bits, chopped eggs, ham, and ranch dressing. I am amazed at how many people consider this diet plan healthy. When I asked where the vegetables are, the reply is lettuce and maybe spinach in the salad. That’s it. No protein till dinner and a lot of sugar for the day. Many people think that because they have cut out greasy fried foods that they are eating healthy and unfortunately that’s not all you need to do. If you total everything she ate today it comes to around: 2410 calories! 19% protien, 40 percent carbs and 41% fat. As women and men get older we tend to lose muscle but women lose muscle at a much higher rate then men. We need more protein in this diet along with “healthy” fat. She said she had no idea she was eating unhealthy. So she is eating healthier than she was before but now really has to work on cleaning her diet up to get those last pounds off. So we need to increase her proteins and decrease her fats. Plus she needs to knock off some of her daily caloric intake so she can lose weight (and exercise!).

So I watched the TV show with Jamie Oliver and the Food Revolution. If you haven’t seen this yet then you should! (I think it comes on Friday nights) Jamie went to a public elementary school where the food specs are laid out by the USDA. The cafeteria cooks were taught to use a ton of processed foods in order to make the food specs by the USDA and get it cooked in time. The kids were eating pizza for breakfast and mostly chicken nuggets or pizza for lunch! The women in the kitchen were so mad that Jamie wanted them to cook items from scratch to make the meals healthier. They thought they were doing well feeding their kids healthy foods and if the USDA set out the regulations then it has to be healthy, right? No! I was appalled. I was watching the commercials in between the show and saw a few that flabbergasted me! One was for Ragu and how if you feed your child Ragu, then they get a whole serving of vegetables in it without them knowing. DID THEY MENTION there is 3 teaspoons of sugar in each serving (per half cup)? NOPE! Then I saw a commercial for Yoplait yogurt making its claim of how it’s so good for you because it has calcium and vitamin d. BUT did they mention there is almost 6 teaspoons of sugar in there? NOPE!

No wonder it is so confusing to people, having them think they are eating healthy by all these claims. Some of the claims are true; they just don’t tell you it’s bad for you too with all that extra sugar. Not to mention, the kids at that school on the Food Revolution, were drinking vanilla, chocolate, or strawberry milk for both breakfast and lunch. Those flavored milks have more sugar in them than sodas! Sugar is ok in small amounts but it’s high in a lot of stuff we eat! And that will keep you fat. It’s also labeled as fructose syrup and high fructose syrup. The ones that say “Low Sugar” or “Low Carbs” such as Quaker products and Arnold Mills breads have sucralose in them which is fake sugar, so that is why they say it is low sugar. The latest studies done on artificial sugar shows that it actually helps us to gain weight. It makes our brains thinking it is getting something sweet and when you don’t, it can cause your blood sugar drop and have you crave a lot of sugar. It also sucks out your energy due to the drop in blood sugar.

So, I guess the question is “How do we eat healthy?” It’s a long learning process. Meeting with a nutrition coach (like me!) can really help you determine how to turn your diet around. But if you follow these tips you will have a good start. Good Luck:

READ, READ, READ: I can’t stress this enough, you should read your food labels to see what is in it, how much: protein, fat and carbs it has. Also look at serving sizes. You’ll be surprised at how little a serving can be on a lot of foods that we are used to eating and we eat 3-4 servings unknowingly. Such as the individual ben and jerry’s size ice cream. A serving is ½ a cup! There are 4 servings in there but most people eat the whole thing. That is like 1200 calories! Yikes! Most women that want to lose weight need to cut there calories down to 1200-1800 per day so that Ice cream is like 1 days worth of calories!

Measure: This is also so important. It’s a pain to do it at first but after you have done it for awhile then you begin to be able to eye it. If you are having spaghetti for dinner ¼ cup of pasta is one serving. Restaurants give 2-4 x’s this much for their entrees. Use shredded cheese and measure a serving out (usually a ¼ or ½ cup) and use that. Since it is shredded it will seem like a lot but just really tricking yourself.

Chew slowly! I watch so many people chew once then swallow. I don’t know how they don’t choke. Take small bites and chew your food slow. This will help your food digest better and you will get fuller faster.

Try to spread your meals out to 5-6 small meals a day. This will help keep you full all day.

See a professional! This is your best bet. You can use a registered dietician or a certified nutrition coach.

GOOD LUCK!

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Perfect time to start losing weight! Wednesday, Mar 10 2010

Ok, so we’ve had plenty of time to make our resolution for this year and many people have already failed or become discouraged. I’d like to go over some tips that can help someone who is trying to eat healthier or lose weight.

Obviously if you can hire a personal trainer and see a nutritionist that would be your best option but many of us can’t afford that luxury. So that being said, getting your entire family in on this with you is the best. You would then, as a family go through the house and throw away junk food and any other products that are processed, full of sugar, sodas, etc…

If your family can part with these items at least at home then that is a huge success for you! Learning together as a family on how to cook healthy meals creates a bond that will be married. If you are not sure how to cook healthy then get some cook books that use real ingredients. At first it will seem like you just don’t have the time and not sure how you can do this. Planning is your first step. You should plan for at least 1 week of food to keep in the house. Going to the store every day by forgetting something or just getting dinner each night can be quite costly in itself. Each member of the family should sit and write down their weaknesses. For example, every now and then my kids (teens) would like Captain Crunch or Cinnamon Twists cereal. Every now and then for them is not too bad but I know that if it is in the house I will sit with the box next to me and finish at least half of it. So I don’t keep it in the house. If certain items call your name or make your mouth drool then you probably shouldn’t keep it in the house.

A few tips to help you curb your cravings is when you feel really hungry then drink a “cold” glass of ice water, about 6-10 oz. I can keep individual dove dark chocolates in the house without eating them in one sitting (like I can do in other situations) so when I am hungry I will eat one of those and then drink the water. Wait for about 30 minutes and if you are still hungry then treat your self to some fruit or veggies .

If your family is like mine and they don’t want to help you, well this is where I really succeed. So I’ll cook my dinner and my husband will cook his yucky dinner. The kids will usually eat from me but sometimes they go to my husband. At first I thought it would be hard watching them eat unhealthy but tasty meals. But I came up with a plan! So I continue to eat my healthy meals and I will take a bite of their unhealthy meal. This really helps me with my cravings. Also if we go out and they get fries and I got fruit, I will sneak a couple of fries. So I made my situation into a good one so I can “taste” the unhealthy meals and get my cravings fix. Everyone keeps food hidden in the house if it is something I might like to eat late at night. After awhile it gets easy and I get to “taste” what I’m missing and that is enough for me.

Another trick is to journal your feelings when eating. Yes GUYS too . I’ve been involved in nutrition and exercise for many, many years and I just started journaling and I found out I was teaching my kids bad eating habits! As strict as I am, I found out that every time someone in our family was sad then I was baking cookies for comfort. I was teaching them to use food for comfort when you are sad. Also I noticed that every holiday and birthdays and anytime the kids have done something really good in school, we take them out to eat. So now I was associating doing good things with food as well. Ugh, that was frustrating. So now when we are sad then we watch a funny movie with very low calorie, low fat popcorn. And if someone did something great then we would go do something fun like a movie or rock climbing or bowling.

So those are some of my tips. Hopy you enjoy!!!!!!!!

Kristina Crossway

NASM CPT

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Obstacles: Living with an autoimmune disease and trying to maintain fitness Saturday, Feb 20 2010

I recently found out the meaning behind this song and I felt a strong urge to share my story hoping to help others who live like this or live with someone like this. Rob Thomas wrote this song about his wife who suffers from an autoimmune disease. Most people who suffer from an autoimmune disease usually suffer in silence. It is hard for people to understand these diseases because you usually don’t look sick and the only way you may find out that they are suffering is if they tell you. But then because you don’t look sick you are written off as a complainer, especially if you are sick for a long time. I was diagnosed with Lupus about 12 years ago. When I have a flare up I will have really bad joint pain, extreme fatigue and depending on the flare up I may suffer from pleurisy, kidney infections, muscle pain and more… When I’m not having a flare up I still suffer from fatigue, mild joint pain and muscle pain.

The past 3 years I have been sick with multiple autoimmune diseases. When one gets better another one manifests. Lupus, polymyositis and crohn’s disease are the ones diagnosed but the doctors feel there are others that they can’t identify. After I had a mild Lupus flare up a few years ago, mainly dealing with joint pain, pleurisy and severe fatigue, I then began to suffer from severe muscle pain. I would work out (because exercise is actually good for people with Lupus b/c it helps with the joint pain if you can get through the workout) and then have severe pain for almost a week. Every muscle hurt and became weak to where I could barely hold up a blow dryer to dry my hair. The pain would subside a little and I would try to work out again only to feel this extreme pain and weakness. After about 3-4 episodes of this my doctor did some more blood tests only to find my cpk levels (muscle enzymes) were over 22,000 which normal values are below 300. You would normally find this level in people who were in a car accident and had severe muscle damage. This was polymyositis and I wasn’t able to work out for over 6 months. Of course I’m so stubborn I kept trying about once a week only to suffer more pain. After the prednisone finally put this one at bay I started having severe digestive system problems in which they finally decided to remove most of my large intestines. After this surgery (which was the worst surgery I’ve ever had including the horrible recovery) I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease. I finally started getting better overall after another round of prednisone. My doctor prematurely took me off my meds because he said everything looked ok even though I said I still didn’t feel right. By this time I’m seeing 5 different doctors because one doctor won’t treat everything, if I suffer joint pain I see the rheumatologist, nerve pain/weakness-neurologist, abdominal pain-gastroenterologist, breathing problems-pulmonologist, chest pain/high heart rate-cardiologist…and so on.

After going off my medications I was just getting back into my routine of running 5 miles and strength training then BAM: all of sudden I can’t breathe while running. I had just started running hills since my girls were in cross country so I thought, wow these hills are brutal I could barely run a few miles. Each day I ran less and less having to stop because I couldn’t catch my breath. Uuugggghhh! Not again! I just want to get better, c’mon! After a few months of being treated for asthma that I’m sure I don’t have I am still not any better. I keep trying every week to run and I push myself until I feel like I’m going to pass out b/c I think ok this time I can do it. The doctors finally decide to run some blood work only to find I’m really iron deficient…what?? I’m on prescription strength iron supplements, I eat iron rich foods and because of the birth control I’m on, I don’t have a cycle at all. The reasons one might be iron deficient is either malnutrition or bleeding. After another test it is discovered I am indeed bleeding internally somewhere along my digestive tract. So next week I undergo a few tests, one to see if I really have asthma or some other lung problem and the others are an upper and lower endoscopy to try to find the bleeding. If they can’t find anything with the upper and lower endoscopy then I get to swallow a camera pill. Ok, so that’s kind of cool.

In the meantime I keep training clients yet when I go to work out I feel like a really old lady barely able to push myself to run 1 1/2 miles alternating running/walking and only able to lift light weights less than 50% percent of what I’m used to. I love training clients and when I am working with a client I actually feel pretty good, knowing I’m helping them achieve their goals and seeing them improve and get healthier is just such a good feeling. My family has adjusted to my illnesses for the most part. It is hard for family that lives far away why I haven’t been able to go see them. My husband has struggled off and on because I don’t look sick and I might feel good a few hours per day then I start to feel bad again. I have to really plan my day in advance because I have to conserve my energy. My husband will come home and want to go out to eat or see a movie but I can’t because I used my energy already. He struggled with having to schedule a date especially since he is a spur of the moment person. He tries and he goes to my doctor’s appointments to try to understand this better. I’m in a lot of pain and it is hard for him because he can’t do anything to help me. Being married to someone who has been sick for 3 years can be pretty difficult. Especially when prednisone can make you very irritable and so can being iron deficient and pain. He is really learning to ignore my “exorcist moments”, which can be pretty bad. I’m thankful he can get past that.

My kids are awesome. I put an oversized chair in my room so they come in my room to watch TV with me on the weekends. I’m usually in bed for most of the weekends to rest up for the week. Having 3 teenagers climb in bed with you or sit in the chair next to me and watch movies is really awesome. When my husband is home at night there are 3-4 of us in my bed and 1-2 in the chair watching movies. My bedroom has become the family room and I really feel blessed for that. So I’m hoping next week will bring some answers and then treatment to make me normal again. I can’t wait! If you know someone who lives like this don’t treat them like an alien b/c you don’t know what to do, just find ways to encourage them, make them laugh or do something fun with them that they can handle. They want to feel normal but also understood.

God Bless!

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Food Addiction…Is it Real? Thursday, Feb 4 2010

Ok, so we’ve had plenty of time to make our resolution for this year and many people have already failed or become discouraged. I’d like to go over some tips that can help someone who is trying to eat healthier or lose weight.

Obviously if you can hire a personal trainer and see a nutritionist that would be your best option but many of us can’t afford that luxury. So that being said, getting your entire family in on this with you is the best. You would then, as a family go through the house and throw away junk food and any other products that are processed, full of sugar, sodas, etc…

If your family can part with these items at least at home then that is a huge success for you! Learning together as a family on how to cook healthy meals creates a bond that will be married. If you are not sure how to cook healthy then get some cook books that use real ingredients. At first it will seem like you just don’t have the time and not sure how you can do this. Planning is your first step. You should plan for at least 1 week of food to keep in the house. Going to the store every day by forgetting something or just getting dinner each night can be quite costly in itself. Each member of the family should sit and write down their weaknesses. For example, every now and then my kids (teens) would like Captain Crunch or Cinnamon Twists cereal. Every now and then for them is not too bad but I know that if it is in the house I will sit with the box next to me and finish at least half of it. So I don’t keep it in the house. If certain items call your name or make your mouth drool then you probably shouldn’t keep it in the house.

A few tips to help you curb your cravings is when you feel really hungry then drink a “cold” glass of ice water, about 6-10 oz. I can keep individual dove dark chocolates in the house without eating them in one sitting (like I can do in other situations) so when I am hungry I will eat one of those and then drink the water. Wait for about 30 minutes and if you are still hungry then treat your self to some fruit or veggies .

If your family is like mine and they don’t want to help you, well this is where I really succeed. So I’ll cook my dinner and my husband will cook his yucky dinner. The kids will usually eat from me but sometimes they go to my husband. At first I thought it would be hard watching them eat unhealthy but tasty meals. But I came up with a plan! So I continue to eat my healthy meals and I will take a bite of their unhealthy meal. This really helps me with my cravings. Also if we go out and they get fries and I got fruit, I will sneak a couple of fries. So I made my situation into a good one so I can “taste” the unhealthy meals and get my cravings fix. Everyone keeps food hidden in the house if it is something I might like to eat late at night. After awhile it gets easy and I get to “taste” what I’m missing and that is enough for me.

Another trick is to journal your feelings when eating. Yes GUYS too . I’ve been involved in nutrition and exercise for many, many years and I just started journaling and I found out I was teaching my kids bad eating habits! As strict as I am, I found out that every time someone in our family was sad then I was baking cookies for comfort. I was teaching them to use food for comfort when you are sad. Also I noticed that every holiday and birthdays and anytime the kids have done something really good in school, we take them out to eat. So now I was associating doing good things with food as well. Ugh, that was frustrating. So now when we are sad then we watch a funny movie with very low calorie, low fat popcorn. And if someone did something great then we would go do something fun like a movie or rock climbing or bowling.

So those are some of my tips. Hopy you enjoy!!!!!!!!

Kristina Crossway

NASM CPT

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Welcome! Monday, Feb 1 2010

Welcome to KrisCross Training Blog!  This blog is dedicated to sharing health and fitness tips to become a better you.  I hope you enjoy!

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