WHO IS SALLE?

AFTER READING THIS SCROLL DOWN FOR NEWEST MESSAGE:

My name is Salle and I’m a Diet Coach.  I’m not a doctor, I’m not a certified nutritionalist, I’m just someone who, for the past 39 years has sold vitamins, owned a health food store, been one of the top 10 Weight Watchers facilitators in the Missouri/Illinois area, walked 33 marathons/half marathons (begun at age 55), and lost more weight than I care to think of!

For the past 15 years I have helped hundreds, if not thousands, of men and women get to their goal weight and exceed their expectations.  I trained over 100 of my former Weight Watchers members to walk a marathon (26.2 miles) some of which were over 100 POUNDS over weight when they did it!!!

I believe everyone, with simple changes, can get AND STAY at their goal.  I took off and put back on the same pounds for years, feeling like a failure every time.  I finally learned that it’s easier to take it off with lifestyle changes than to go “on a diet”.  Lifestyle changes to me are changes you make in your life that are permanent, which means no hunger diets, no pre-packaged meals, no “no’s”.  I believe in not doing anything to lose weight that you’re not willing to do for the rest of your life.  I believe in being able to sit down with family and friends and eat the same foods.  I believe in simplicity.  I believe general knowledge about the foods we’re eating is essential.  I believe that getting to our goals takes time and not to rush it.  I believe that commitment to a program is all-important.  I believe that, with my help, you will get to goal and regain the self-confidence, the belief in yourself, that you’re looking for.

I’ll be adding to this blog at least once a month and I’ll be glad to help you with your challenges.  You can add comments after a post (just click on the “comments” or “no comments” at the bottom left of each post).  I read and appreciate all your comments.

Since the newest post will always be under this one you might want to use the calendar and categories to the right of this to go to the topic you’d like to read. Any date that I add a blog will be high-lighted on the calendar.  Just click on the date to go to the  newest message. Also, you can click on a month to see all messages added that month or go to a category that you’d like help from.

Any suggestions you have on how to make this a better blog for you, let me know.

In the meanwhile let’s get TO GOAL AND BEYOND!

THE HOLIDAYS ARE HERE!

I know I haven’t written  for a while – no excuses – but here I am now.  Can’t believe it’s almost Halloween, the official (?) beginning of the holiday seasons.  Next we have Thanksgiving (thrown in before I have my son’s and husband’s birthdays), then start Christmas parties, Hanukkah celebrations and everything else you can think of.  SO, now’s the time to start getting yourself under control.  If you don’t – you’ll suddenly have a 10 to 15 pounds weight gain at the first of the year.  Yeah, that’s about the average from now until then.  If I’m ANYTHING, I’m NOT AVERAGE and neither are you are you wouldn’t be reading this.  Now is the time to start monitoring yourself.  Are you eating too much?  Are you eating the wrong foods?  Are you drinking enough liquids?  Are you exercising?  Are you eating throughout the day?  Are you monitoring your portions?  Are you mindlessly snacking?  Okay, so you should answer NO, NO, YES, YES, YES, YES, NO – if you didn’t, where do you need help?  Write to me and I’ll be glad to help!  The best idea is to lose weight now and give yourself some lee-way throughout the holidays.  You can do it – I know you can!

SOMETHING DIFFERENT!

I’m getting really excited about a new program that I’ll be presenting in my classes beginning September 26th.  I’ve been doing lots of research and know that everyone wants the same thing – to lose (or maintain) weight, to make it easy, to feel better, to have more energy, to lessen their chances for disease in the future, to help control conditions in their health now – and I hope my new program will help in all of these.  So, if you want to hear more you’ll have to let me know!!  If no one is coming to this site I’ll spend my time on other projects.  LET ME HEAR FROM YOU IF YOU’RE INTERESTED!

I’M BACK AND WALKIN’

I just looked back and realize it’s been a couple of months since I’ve updated here.  That’s what 8 weeks of grand kids will do!  I got a little off-track both with my eating (pizza and hamburgers don’t work for me) and walking.  Then I realized that 4 weeks from Sunday I’m doing a half marathon in St. Louis so it’s time to get serious.

So, here’s my goal for all to see.  I’m going to walk 50 miles in 4 weeks.  That’s no big deal and I plan to exceed it but I’d rather exceed to succeed.  Maybe that only makes sense to me but I’ve never liked to set a goal TOO high that it frustrates me and then if I don’t make it I feel like a failure.  It’s funny but go with me on this.  If I set a goal of 100 miles in 4 weeks and I did 50 miles was I a success of failure.  In my mind I failed.  But, if I set my goal at 50 miles and go 60 I’m more than a success.

I like seeing my progress so I have a Nike+I-Pod sensor.  One half gets attached to the Ipod the other sensor goes in your shoe.  It tells you how long you’ve walked/run, how far, how many calories you burn AND I track it on-line and it tells me every day how much farther I have to go and how much I’ve exceeded my goal.  Love it!  I’ve also posted my results each day on my face book.  I do better when I make my goals public.  I may sometimes disappoint myself but I don’t like disappointing others so having others see how I’m doing keeps me on track.

It’s still hot here in Tucson and this morning was muggy after an evening rain (yeah for rain) but we (Mal and a friend) started walking at 5:15 (it was still dark) and got 6 miles in before we felt some more rain drops.  I burned over 500 calories!  If I do that every day I can take off a pound a week before the 1/2 marathon.  Some people have baby fat – I have grand children fat.  Only 3 pounds in 8 weeks so…..not bad.

Okay, I’ve rambled enough for today.  I’m going to go fix myself a nice protein drink with yogurt, strawberries, bananas, blueberries and powdered protein.  Yummmm!

SUMMER? WHAT HAPPENED TO IT?

Wow!  I can’t believe that summer has been and almost gone (although not the scorching weather here in Arizona).  Schools start is just a couple of weeks and time to get back to our “regular” schedules – whatever that is.  We’ve had Grandchildren here for the last six weeks and have another couple of weeks to go before they go home to Missouri.  I have to say – my eating has not been normal!  Well, normal for ME that is.  Hamburgers, pizza, more hamburgers, more pizza, ice cream and milk shakes.  It seems my  Grand-kids think we eat a little strange, so, since we only see them once a year we can’t convert them so they’ve succeeded in converting us!  The result – 3 pounds and a lot of tired!!  Tired from being on the go and tired from eating food my body isn’t used to.  It’s started actually talking to me – I know it has.  I can hear it saying – “Vegetables, fruits, chicken, please, please, please!  Feed me!”  So, this week I’ve shopped for every piece of fruit I can think of and have started back on the road to recovery!!!  See, one thing I discovered years ago is that it’s okay to go off track as long as you realize that the track ends and you have to get back on the road- ASAP.

My plan: get back to my journal.  That’s ALWAYS the plan when a couple of pounds come back.  That’s how, for the last 15 or 20 years, I’ve been able to stay BELOW my goal weight.  The journal is the best tool anyone can have and if you haven’t started using one yet – START!  Write it BEFORE you bite it and pay attention to the calories throughout the day.  I don’t allow myself to EVER go above the zero on the scale – the 120 mark.  Even now I haven’t gone above it and that’s because of taking some extra weight off before the kids arrived.  I’ve said it before and will probably say it lots of time again – it’s easier to take weight off BEFORE an event where you know you might gain some than to take it off later.  Plus you don’t “out grow” your clothes by putting on a few pounds over your ideal weight.

TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF SO YOU CAN TAKE CARE OF OTHERS!!

CHALLENGES – CHALLENGES – CHALLENGES

Yes, that’s what I said – challenges!  I’m sitting here, reading a book while my husband, Mal, watches his St. Louis Cardinal baseball game, and relaxing for probably the last time in the next 8 weeks.  Tomorrow begins what I’ve been waiting for for a couple of years – a 6 week visit with my Grandson, Jamie!  A week after he comes my niece, Madison, is coming for a week.  The day she leaves Mal, Jamie, our son, Dennis, and our other Grandson, Syd, leave for a week in Las Vegas.  We’ll be home 3 days before our Granddaughter, Kassidy, arrives for a month and, straight from the airport, we’ll go to Sedonna, AZ. for 4 days, be home for 3 and go to Phoenix for 3 days!!!!  After that I open my 3 classes a week at 123 Fit!  So, do you think I might have some challenges coming up.  Now they may be a tad more than you have (or maybe a tad less) but a challenge is a challenge and nothing more.   Webster’s definition of a challenge is: a demanding or stimulating situation.  It’s not an excuse to “forget it all and let’s have fun with the kids” for me.  Instead it’s “figure out how to eat well MOST of the time, walk a lot to make up for the times when I don’t and end up “below the 5 on the scale” when it’s all over.  A demanding challenge, FOR SURE!  A stimulating situation, YOU BET but a “done deal” that I’m going to go off my program – NO WAY!

Remember, I tell you to just get “below the 5 or below the zero on the scale” and STAY THERE!  That is, if you’re 167 get below 165, then get below 160 – only 5 pounds to worry about at a time.  I see too many people get below, treat themselves and go above again.  It’s those challenges that they let become problems!  I’ve never worried about a “quick” few pounds coming on because I subscribe to the theory of “easy on, easy off”.  If you put it on fast, it comes off fast.  I was reading an article last week that told about, “last on, first off” meaning the fat cells you add last will be the first ones off – guess they don’t have time to “stick”.  That’s why it’s important AS SOON AS YOU SEE A LITTLE GAIN – go 110% until it’s off.

Anyway,  I may not write in here for awhile since I’ll be busy traveling and enjoying all our  house guests, and loving every busy minute!  I’ll let you know how I do when it’s all over.  After all, it’s just another challenge!!

GOAL SETTING

How good are you at getting to your goal?  Do you actually GET to your goal?  Do you even know WHAT YOUR GOAL IS?  Come on, how are you going to get there if you don’t know where you’re going.  Let’s pretend we’re going to….say Montana….how are you going to get there?  Are you walking?  flying?  driving?  How long are you staying?  A day?  A week?  A month?  What are you going to pack?  Long Clothes?  Short clothes?  Casual clothes?  Dressy Clothes?  Where are you going to stay when you get there?  Stay with friends? Go to a hotel?  Camp out?  Go to a hostel?

Okay, you can see where I’m going.  It’s really hard to start off going some place without a plan.  With any goal setting you have to be smart – that’s S M A R T!  First off – be specific as to what you want to accomplish.  If it’s to lose weight, make it specific – I’M GOING TO LOSE WEIGHT BEFORE I GO ON VACATION on July 26.  Now, make it measurable – I’ll do it by writing down everything that I eat and staying within my calorie allotment and exercising .  Next, be sure your goal is attainable.  Trying to lose 5 pounds a week IS NOT.  Making your goal to lose between 1 1/2 and 2 pounds a week IS!  Be realistic.  Don’t say you’re going to exercise for 2 hours a day – it’s just not going to happen, but, 3 or 4 hours A WEEK is realistic.  And, last, make it traceable.  Write down each day your calories, how much you’ve exercised and SAVE YOUR RECORDS!  If you have a good week, you just might want to repeat it next week.  If your goal wasn’t met, check what you’ve written and see where the improvements can be made.  Don’t let anything stand in your way of success.  YOU CAN DO IT!  I KNOW YOU CAN!  If you need any help you can reach me through this blog or e-mail me at salleyawitz@gmail.com.  I’m here for you!

WHAT YOU RESIST…YOU’RE STUCK WITH!

What you resist, you’re stuck with!  Someone told me that long ago and it holds true with me today.  How many times have you said to yourself, “I’ve got to exercise today” or “I’m going to write down everything I eat” or “I know I should be drinking more water” and then WE DON’T!  We all KNOW what we “should” be doing (remember, “don’t should on yourself”) but we resist it.  We seem to resist the most the things that will help us the most.  Why?  Beats me, but we seem to continue in our resistance but, guess what?  If we keep resisting change, nothings going to change!  Wow – what a concept!  So, let’s do this.  Get out a peace of paper and write down a goal you want to meet, whether it be in weight loss or getting a new job or whatever.  Really – get that piece of paper and do it before we go on.

………………..I’m waiting!

Okay, did you do it?  If you didn’t you can stop reading ’cause nothing else will make sense.  After you write down your goal – sit and think and write “What I resist in getting to my goal is (now leave a blank line) and write down everything (excuses and all) that keep you from getting to your goal.  In weight loss it might be counting calories (or points) and writing it down, exercising, keeping the right food in the house, cutting down on “junk food”, drinking plenty of liquids, staying within your calories, etc. etc. etc.  Go on…..do it now!

It’s amazing to me how we set goals and then we set up roadblocks to keep us from getting there.  I don’t know about you but to me a goal is a promise to myself and I don’t break promises to others so I sure won’t break one to me.  I’m worth it and so are you!!!  So the next step to getting to your goal is go back to the top of the page where you wrote  ”What I resist in getting to my goal is…” and on that blank line write UP UNTIL NOW!!!  That’s right, there’s no better time to change your habit of resistance (it is just a habit after all) is NOW!  If you wrote lots of stuff….start working on one at a time.  Pick the one, get another sheet, write that first sentence and the “up until now” and the habit you’re going to work on……and do it!!  Mark on a calendar each day you succeed.  Remember, it takes 21 days to make a habit so GO FOR IT!!  I know you can!  I have confidence in you – the only question remaining is DO YOU BELIEVE IN YOURSELF?  If you don’t, send me an e-mail on your challenge and let’s talk.  I’m here to help.  Don’t let anything EVER stand in your way of getting what you want in your life.

With this I’ll end – it all goes back to YOU GOTTA WANT IT!!!

HOME MADE “FAGE” YOGURT

 

 

 

 

 

Mal (my hubby) has made this 3 or 4 times now and it’s terrific!

 

Equipment:

Glass or pottery bowl

Microwave

Instant-read thermometer – (candy thermometer)

100 watt bulb for the oven

 

To make 5 cups:  ( we actually double this each time and make it a BIG container)

 

1 quart milk – whole, 2% or skim

1 1/2 cups dry milk (powdered milk)

1/2 cup plain Stoneyfield yogurt (has the most active cultures)

1 T. Sugar

 

In glass or pottery bowl, thoroughly mix together the quart of milk, powdered milk and sugar.  This will be a very rich milk mixture.

 

Heat in microwave for 3 minutes and then at 1 minute intervals until reaches 180 degrees.  Check after each minute.  After it reaches 180 degrees, let it cool to 105-110 degrees (takes about 30 to 60 minutes).

 

When reaches proper temp. stir the 1/2 cup yogurt up to make sure the active cultures are evenly distributed and then add to milk mixture.  Make sure the milk mixture and yogurt culture are well blended the cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a plastic bag and place in oven with 100  watt lightbulb and turn oven light on.  LEAVE IT FOR 14 TO 15 HOURS.  Chill in refrigerator for 2 – 3 days.  This sets the yogurt and thickens it.

 

BE SURE TO SAVE 1/2 CUP FOR START OF NEXT BATCH.

CHANGE IS GOOD!

It seems like we all want change in our life but sometimes aren’t willing to do what we need to to get it.  Of course I’m talking about our weight issues.  We want to see that number on the scale go down until  it reaches our “goal” weight but…..what are we doing to make that happen.  WANTING change isn’t enough – we actually have to MAKE SOME CHANGES to see a change.  We want to SEE a difference in how we look – we actually have to DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT to see the difference.  People can guide you, people can help you, people can encourage you, but it’s you and you alone that can make that change and see that difference.

No one puts food in your mouth but you.  No one can make you eat more than you need or want.  In that same vein – no one can make sure you write down what you eat and count your calories or measure out the amount you’re eating.  No one will check to see that you’ve had enough water today.  No one will keep telling you that you need to eat 5 or 6 small meals a day.  (Unless you come to my meetings and then it becomes “harping”)  So, who has to be responsible to make sure you get to your goal.  YOU!!  

What do you make more important than your commitment to yourself to get healthy.  Is your work more important?  Is your family more important?  Let’s think about that.  If you don’t take care of yourself how can you take care of anyone or anything else and do a good job at it.  YOU are the most important person in the world!  You staying healthy and living longer is or should be your immediate goal and WHATEVER you have to do to reach that goal – DO IT!  Don’t put yourself second or third or anywhere down the line except in first place.  

Take the few minutes it takes to look up calories, to measure out your servings, to write down what you’re eating, to take a refreshing walk around the block.  As you see results that come from taking charge of yourself you’ll wonder why you haven’t done it before.

Let me end with one of my favorite sayings – and really think about it!!

IF YOU ALWAYS DO WHAT YOU’VE ALWAYS DONE

YOU’LL ALWAYS GET WHAT YOU’VE ALWAYS GOT AND…

YOU’LL ALWAYS BE WHAT YOU’VE ALWAYS BEEN!

As I said at the beginning – change is good!

FROZEN FRUIT TART

Give this one a try!

2 to 2 14 cups low-fat vanilla yogurt

9 inch ready-made graham-cracker crust

12 oz. fresh blackberries (can use any berry really)

1. Whip yogurt and pour into piecrust

2.  Use back of spoon to smooth out evenly and place in freezer for 3 to 4 hours.  Remove and place berries on top.  Refreeze for at least 20 minutes.

Serves 8 for 180 calories, 27 g carbs, 4 g protein, 7 g fat  PLUS it’s actually healthy!!!