Kettlebody Tip #68: Don’t let restaurants tell you how much food you need

Yesterday, I called to order a pizza. The lady told me they had three sizes: small, large, and extra-large. Don’t ask me why they think anyone won’t get that a large is actually medium! Marketing psychology, I guess.

Anyway, she went on to say that the small is for one, the large is for two, and extra-large is for three or four.

Bullshit!

Of course, when I picked up our large pizza, I could tell immediately that it was too big for just the two of us, even though we were pretty damn hungry!

But what if we hadn’t been so hungry? We would have only finished half of the pizza.

Now I don’t fault the restaurant for their huge serving sizes. People want an idea of what size pizza to order, and for business it’s probably better to err on the side of too much food per person.

I just wish people wouldn’t listen to the restaurant!

Because a restaurant doesn’t know how hungry you are. A restaurant doesn’t know how much food you need to be satisfied.

A restaurant has no idea if you had a snack a little while ago or if you haven’t eaten in twelve hours.

So many times, I have let restaurants tell me how much food I need.

Not anymore!

Join me this new year in not letting restaurants (or anyone else for that matter) determine how much food we need!

By Charlie Fields of kettlebody.com. Charlie is a San Diego personal trainer known for his pleasure-enhancing approach to exercise and eating. For more tips like this or to learn about Charlie’s bootcamps, eating workshops and coaching, or personal training, visit kettlebody.com.

Kettlebody Tip #67: Channel Barbra

So I am on a Barbra Streisand kick right now.

My boyfriend is going to jump off a cliff if he has to hear me tell one more person about how Barbra not only won a Best Actress Oscar for her very first movie (at 26, mind you), but also was the first woman to win a Best Song Oscar for writing music, not lyrics.

Sue me, I think that is pretty remarkable, and more people should know about it.

Now Babs has said that she hates exercise. I used to hate exercise, too. In fact, it is still not my favorite thing in the world. Fortunately, I really like how it makes me feel so it isn’t hard for me to get into the gym to do it.

My point, and I do have one, is that Barbra is known for being a perfectionist. A lot of people say that perfectionism is not a good trait. And in many instances I would agree…but not when it comes to exercise.

In exercise, perfectionism is good!

In fact, when you work out, you should channel Barbra Streisand.

Four things happen when you focus on doing the exercise perfectly:

1. Your good form reduces risk of injury.
2. The exercise is more effective and you get better results.
3. Time flies by.
4. It becomes more enjoyable.

The first two reasons listed are already widely believed.

But it is the last two that people don’t usually consider.

The more you focus on doing something well, the more engaged you become. This makes time pass more quickly, and it raises your enjoyment.

Try it out for yourself!

By Charlie Fields of kettlebody.com. Charlie is a San Diego personal trainer known for his pleasure-enhancing approach to exercise and eating. For more tips like this or to learn about Charlie’s bootcamps, eating workshops and coaching, or personal training, visit kettlebody.com.

Kettlebody Tip #66: Don’t complain during a workout

Or as my lovely and eloquent sister would say:

Shut your face!

See, when you complain during a workout, you bring your energy down as well as those around you. This is what Nike means when they say “Just do it!”

Instead of saying things like:

• This is too hard!
• I can’t do this
• This sucks!
• My legs are too sore!

Think or say things like:

• I will feel good when this is over!
• This won’t last forever!
• My body will thank me!
• My legs are going to look and feel great!

Now, if you are really in pain, feel free to say so and take a break. Even better, do something else.

For example, if your ankle is giving you trouble and you can’t jump rope, get on your knees and do push-ups instead.

Don’t complain about a problem…find a solution or an alternative!

By Charlie Fields of kettlebody.com. Charlie is a San Diego personal trainer known for his pleasure-enhancing approach to exercise and eating. For more tips like this or to learn about Charlie’s bootcamps, eating workshops and coaching, or personal training, visit kettlebody.com.

Kettlebody Tip #65: Just get in the car and GO

Last night, I got to the gym for my workout class (I was taking, not teaching), and I thought to myself:

How did I get here?

Like, physically, how did my car (with me in it) get to this parking lot?

The best answer I could find is that I just got in the car and went to the gym. That’s it.

I finished training my last client, got in my car, pushed play on my iPod, and the next thing I knew I was walking up the steps on my way to a grueling workout.

And by that time it was too late to turn back…I have the sore hamstrings to prove it!

By Charlie Fields of kettlebody.com. Charlie is a San Diego personal trainer known for his pleasure-enhancing approach to exercise and eating. For more tips like this or to learn about Charlie’s bootcamps, eating workshops and coaching, or personal training, visit kettlebody.com.

Kettlebody Tip #64: Order dessert to go (but maybe have one bite first)

Most trainers would tell you to skip dessert. I would only say that if you don’t like or don’t feel like having dessert.

But if you are out for lunch or dinner, and you want some dessert, my best tip is to order it to go.

Here’s why:

If you have just eaten a meal, there is no possible way that you are still hungry. Ok, maybe if your meal was celery sticks, but who goes to a restaurant for those things?

When you are not hungry that means your body doesn’t want or need food. If you feed your body when it is not hungry, your body will store that food as excess fuel.

So to honor your body and not feed it when it doesn’t want food, all you have to do is wait until you are hungry again. Then eat the dessert!

The best part is, you will enjoy the dessert much more when you are actually hungry. It’s true, hunger is the best seasoning!

Now, if you are absolutely dying to know what the dessert tastes like, open up the package and savor one, delicious bite!

By Charlie Fields of kettlebody.com. Charlie is a San Diego personal trainer known for his pleasure-enhancing approach to exercise and eating. For more tips like this or to learn about Charlie’s bootcamps, eating workshops and coaching, or personal training, visit kettlebody.com.

Kettlebody Tip #63: It takes very little time to eat way more than enough

Today I had to time my lunch. I went to one of my favorite burrito shops, and the only parking spot nearby was metered. And I only had 40 cents on me…enough for 20 minutes.

Luckily I was wearing my trusty Casio watch, so I started the stopwatch.

First, I noticed that it took over ten minutes for me to get my burrito. I was starving and wondered if I could eat enough to satisfy my intense hunger in less than ten minutes, but I didn’t really have a choice.

So I ate and chewed and savored my burrito (this place has the best red and green sauce!). It was delicious even though I forgot to ask for chips! (In case you’ve never seen me eat a burrito, I usually open up my burrito, tear off a piece of tortilla, wrap it around a chip, and then dip it in the burrito insides.)

When I was about halfway done with it, I glanced at my watch and the time was at 21 minutes! But I wanted more burrito! I decided I would take one more bite and then quickly wrap it up and leave.

Thankfully there was no parking ticket on my car!

And later, I started to feel more and more full. As I write, it has been over two hours since eating, and I still feel really full. I am sure I could have been completely satisfied had I eaten even less.

To be honest, I didn’t realize how quickly you can go from starving (I was SO hungry!) to pretty full. I ate for less than ten minutes, for crying out loud! And like I said before, I was not shoveling the food in! I chewed, I savored, and I even paused between bites.

Now compare that ten minutes with the amount of time we normally give ourselves for meals.

Imagine you are at a restaurant. You have sat down and ordered. Finally your food has arrived! How much time do you expect to spend eating it? Much more than ten minutes, right?

I think far too often we reach the point of satisfaction way before we actually want to stop eating.

And it makes sense! I mean, it’s kind of a let down to go to a nice place, be served a beautiful meal that you have been looking forward to, and then push away the plate in five minutes. And heaven forbid you order an appetizer and then realize that you’re not hungry at all by the time you get the main course.

But, really, if you’re not hungry and you keep eating, your body doesn’t need that food. It just doesn’t. If your body needed it, you would be hungry! So since your body doesn’t need it, it is going to store it.

Let me rephrase that, in bold: if you keep eating when your body is no longer hungry, your body is going to store that excess food.

It takes practice to learn to spend less time eating. The best way to start is to think of dining as a complete experience, with eating being just one component. Companionship, conversation, ambiance, music, thoughts, attire, and location are some other aspects to focus on.

By Charlie Fields of kettlebody.com. Charlie is a San Diego personal trainer known for his pleasure-enhancing approach to exercise and eating. For more tips like this or to learn about Charlie’s bootcamps, eating workshops and coaching, or personal training, visit kettlebody.com.

Kettlebody Tip #62: Thin people HATE overeating

Are you watching For The Love of Ray Jay 2?

No?

Congratulations.

I, on the other hand, am completely sucked in. It is my crack these days.

So you can imagine how happy I was to actually learn something useful from the show. Something I can share with all my cluddies.

You saw it in the title: Thin people HATE overeating!

Let me say that for you one more time: Thin people HATE overeating!

Now here is the context. All these girls are competing to become Ray J’s girlfriend, kind of like The Bachelor. And they are all very thin and experts at applying make-up. Ray sent them on a scavenger hunt through Los Angeles a la The Amazing Race. The winning team of two girls would win one-on-one dates with Ray J. And let me tell you, these girls were desperate for a date with Ray J.

The first challenge was for each team to eat four chili dogs at Ray J’s favorite hot dog shack, Pink’s. That is two chili dogs per person.

Now I always thought it was universally accepted that chili dogs are delicious. And in my day, eating two chili dogs wouldn’t be a challenge, it would be a reward! But for a lot of these girls, it was like he was asking them to eat twenty pounds of boiled turnips!

They looked at the dogs with disgust! They said things like “How will I ever eat that much food!?” I expected them to start scarffing them down as bad as they wanted to win, but they took their time before taking the first bite. One girl could barely even finish ONE! Her partner was begging her to eat more and to eat faster because they were going to be in last place.

As someone who has struggled with overeating and now helps others overcome it, I found this insanely profound. There was incredibly delicious food right in front of them. And two chili dogs per person is not even that much!

But they did not want it!!

And they did not enjoy it!!

The question is why!! Why do thin people hate overeating?? So many people seem to love it so much and have such difficulty not doing it!

My belief is that thin people are much more in tune with their bodies than people who overeat. Let’s face it, overeating is uncomfortable. Sure, the food might taste really good in your mouth, but having too much food in your stomach hurts. It’s painful.

But the more you overeat, the more you ignore the physical pain it causes. And the more you ignore the pain, the less connected you are with it and your body. And sometimes the temporary pleasure of having the food in your mouth outweighs (no pun intended) the longer-lasting discomfort that results.

Fortunately it is possible to get back in tune with your body. You can learn to honor physical cues that tell you when you are reaching that level of discomfort. That is exactly the key to managing your weight effortlessly.

The first step is simply to start being aware of your physical sensations before, during, and after eating.

Just for the record, none of the girls said anything about the food being fattening or unhealthy or calories…at all! All they kept saying was stuff like “That’s so much food! I’ll never be able to eat all of that!”

By Charlie Fields of kettlebody.com. Charlie is a San Diego personal trainer known for his pleasure-enhancing approach to exercise and eating. For more tips like this or to learn about Charlie’s bootcamps, eating workshops and coaching, or personal training, visit kettlebody.com.

Kettlebody Tip #61: Drink a gallon of water a day

At least a gallon. I am not kidding.

Make this one change for the next two weeks and watch your waistline shrink.

Buy a gallon jug of water and drink from it all day until it is empty. Then fill it up with purified water (or get a new one) and do it again tomorrow.

Everyone thinks they drink “a lot” of water, but if you don’t have that gallon jug you can be sure you are not drinking enough.

Dehydration will make you tired and feel like you need to eat when food is not what your body needs. Drinking a lot of water will also help you daily detoxify and clean out your system. You will thank me!

If you want , throw in a lemon slice in it for a bit of flavor.

A gallon…at least…do it!

By Charlie Fields of kettlebody.com. Charlie is a San Diego personal trainer known for his pleasure-enhancing approach to exercise and eating. For more tips like this or to learn about Charlie’s bootcamps, eating workshops and coaching, or personal training, visit kettlebody.com.

Kettlebody Tip #60: Skip meals if you wanna

Yesterday I read a list on MSN called 10 Secrets of the Effortlessly Thin.

I was pretty excited to read it since being effortlessly thin is my specialty (or at least, being thin with less effort).

Alas, most of the “secrets” are neither secret nor true nor effortless. Exercise, for example, isn’t a secret nor effortless. Plus, I know plenty of thin people who don’t exercise.

One secret jumped out at me as being completely wrong: “they don’t skip meals.”

In fact, the quality that all truly effortlessly thin people share is that they eat whenever they want, whether that be one or six times a day.

They eat when they are hungry, not when it is a mealtime.

They eat when they are hungry, not because they just woke up.

They eat when they are hungry, not because it is time for their lunch break.

They eat when they are hungry, not because they have dinner plans.

Just yesterday, I had a late breakfast and a late lunch and didn’t feel like dinner. Big whoop!

On the other hand, I have known lots overweight people who eat at least three meals a day because they have been conditioned to do so. Some aren’t even aware that they have a choice about when or how often they eat. Some can’t even conceive of not eating dinner even if they aren’t really that hungry.

As long as the meals you do eat are of high quality and make you feel great, skipping meals is no problem.

By Charlie Fields of kettlebody.com. Charlie is a San Diego personal trainer known for his pleasure-enhancing approach to exercise and eating. For more tips like this or to learn about Charlie’s bootcamps, eating workshops and coaching, or personal training, visit kettlebody.com.

Kettlebody Tip #59: Keep a basket of apples

A personal trainer at Gold’s Gym had her clients eat an apple before every meal. After twelve weeks, they lost an average of 17 pounds per person! She even wrote a book about it.

If you ask me, apples are the number one food for weight loss.

They fill you up. They are delicious. They keep you hydrated. And they are very low in calories.

Want more proof? Check out this article from USA Today about a study in which participants who ate a whole apple before lunch ate 200 calories less of their meal than those who ate either nothing or the equivalent amount of applesauce or juice.

I recommend keeping lots of washed apples on hand both at home and at work. My slim mother keeps a cooler with some apples in her car at all times. If you are one hell of a ‘mo on the go, try those packets of sliced apples from Costco.

By Charlie Fields of kettlebody.com. Charlie is a San Diego personal trainer known for his pleasure-enhancing approach to exercise and eating. For more tips like this or to learn about Charlie’s bootcamps, eating workshops and coaching, or personal training, visit kettlebody.com.