Grocery Shopping

This is our first blog with the new format! We will discuss a topic and how each of my books would address each. Today’s Topic is Grocery Shopping:

TimerDiet—TimerOrganizer—TimerSavings

Make Menus

When grocery shopping you want to make sure that you know what you are going to do with each item that you buy. How will each purchase be consumed? Do you have a purpose for each purpose that is well-balanced? Can you combine your purchase with other purchases or things you have at home that will make it well-balanced including dietary fat, protein, and carbohydrates. 

Each week when it is time to grocery shop take a few minutes to make some menus for the week. They don’t need to be specific—fish, green vegetable, and some rice the details can be decided later, based on the sale items. Perhaps it is taco night or pasta night…either way make sure that you include dietary fat, protein, and carbohydrates.  This includes your breakfast, lunches, and mini-meals (i.e. snacks)

Organize Your Fridge!

You may have so many groceries in your refrigerator and freezer that you have no idea what is good, expired, or even goes together to make a well-balanced meal. It is better to have less groceries in your fridge that you know are fresh and good for you than be filled with many foods that are “not in your best interests” or have already expired and will not be useful when it is time to make dinner.

Take 15 minutes with the trash can in hand and get rid of anything that you would not be willing to eat right now. In other words if you don’t think it is fresh today, then toss it. Now organize what you have left by areas that make sense to you! Some people like to organize by breakfast, lunch, dinner, or snacks, while others like to organize by products, cheeses, meats, salad mixings, cooking vegetables, toppings, etc. Whatever organization makes sense to you go for it, keep it, and make it work for you to save money and use all the groceries you bought instead of throwing them out because they went bad.

Save Your Money

Grocery shopping is the one area that you have the MOST control over your budget. You decide what you buy and how much you buy. I read a statistic that the average family throws out a little over $1,000 each year! Do you have something that you could spend $1,000 rather than the trash can? I know I do! I am not perfect I promise I have to deal with the same thing that all of us do. But, most of us don’t even realize what we are doing. We throw food out in the trash without realizing the actual $’s that we are throwing out. So when you are throwing out food, take a note pad and write down an estimate of how much you are tossing. So if something cost $10 and you used ½ of it then you would write down $5 as the amount that you wasted. Do this for at least a month and get to the point where you are throwing away less than 2% of your food budget. Life is all about choices and the wisest choice is to buy what you want AND need and to not waste any of it (well not much of it anyway!)

Sherri Sue Fisher, author of TimerDiet, TimerOrganizer, and coming soon TimerSavings

Halloween Candy!

Halloween Candy!

It is that time of year when all the temptations are around us constantly until the New Year. TimerDiet devotes all of Chapter 7—Holidays and Various Events, just for you!

Don't Get Spooked by the Halloween Candy!

The Best Defense is a Good Offence!

Here is an excerpt from my book TimerDiet Chapter 7—Holidays and Various Events: “Halloween: Don’t buy candy that you will want to eat yourself. There is usually some kind of candy that is not very tempting to you. For me, these candies are Almond Joy, Hot Tamales, and Gummy Bears—they just don’t do it for me, so I feel very safe buying them. However, do not get me around a bag of Snickers, Reese’s, or M&M’s. I will eat them in a heartbeat! Keep this in mind when you pick up goodies to hand out. No one needs to know that you are not crazy about the candy you hand out. When there are leftovers, you won’t be tempted to eat them, nor will you be tempted to open the bags ahead of time to get a taste.

If you have children and are used to getting into their candy, decide this year, it is hands-off! How much and how often you allow the kids to eat is a personal decision that you will need to make. If you can give some away to a good cause, do so. Some dentists have a program in which you bring in your Halloween candy and they donate it to the troops.”

Get a Head Start on the Holidays!

With all the “eating” holidays coming soon, it is important to have some good information to make sure that you don’t gain weight and if you are in the middle of losing weight to make sure you stay on track!! (It CAN be done xoxo)

Sherri Sue Fisher, author of TimerDiet and TimerOrganizer

TimerDiet is available in Hardback, Paperback, E-book, and Audio

Clickhere to go to Amazon and get your copy!

Accountability

Diet Plans Where You are Accountable to Someone Else May Backfire!

We hear about having an accountability partner and be accountable to someone else for your diet plan. Is this really working? I can’t imagine asking my best friend to tell me to my face when they think I am screwing up and being “happy” about them telling me. Let’s even go to a worst case scenario. Your friend is also losing weight and by all accounts is being perfect and losing weight faster than you. Now you have your best friend on your case and losing weight faster than you are. Will this motivate you? Or make you give up and say, “I just don’t want to play this game anymore!”?

So try these new rules for being accountable to you and only YOU:

1.      Do not tell anyone that you are planning on losing weight

2.      Keep a journal of what you ate so you can learn how certain foods affect you

3.      Always do things that you love to do

4.      Never create a reward system for reaching your weight loss goals

5.      Keep a journal of your exercise progress, see how much you are able to increase in time and weight, it is exciting!

Diets and weight loss plans are all over the place right now and it can be a little overwhelming. Just remember that you have the power to lose the weight you want within you! Keep your friends for fun, sad times, and someone to talk with. 

Sherri Sue Fisher, author of TimerDiet and TimerOrganizer

The Scale!

My Scale IS My Best Friend

This morning I woke up and I was at my “Whoa” weight…a first in at least 6 months. I don’t say this to brag, but to tell you that my scale is really my best friend.

She tells me when I am doing good

She tells me when I am in danger

And like a real best friend--she only tells me when I ASK!!

If you haven’t finished my recent book TimerDiet, then you may be asking what the “Whoa” weight is. In Chapter 9—Now That You Have Lost the Weight, I discuss how to maintain your weight in great detail so that you do not end up gaining the weight back. I found that when I had lost weight in the past (not weighing myself daily) there was usually a time where I was a size smaller than I had planned. I would stay there for a few weeks and then go back up even more than where I wanted to be. So I discuss how to avoid this in Chapter 9.

I hear so many times all the downfalls of my “best friend” the scale:

There could be other things happening that affect your weight like muscle mass  

So she may not have the whole picture

You will go crazy if you check your weight every day since it fluctuates

So she may constantly give you feedback that you cannot handle

Once a week is more than enough to weigh yourself

So much could happen is a week, that she wasn’t able to warn you about

You missed some days where she wanted to tell you—You did a great job!!

You should just know by the way your clothes fit

You shouldn’t need to ask your best friend since you are all knowing

To all these objections I say, “Hogwash!” It is just her reflection of the situation, she is unbiased, and she has nothing to gain by giving you inaccurate information. It only takes 15 seconds every morning after you have woken up and emptied your bladder. And just like a best friend, you don’t have to agree with her!!

Sherri Sue Fisher,

Author of TimerDiet and TimerOrganizer

Family and Your Weight Loss Plan

How to Incorporate Others into Your “Diet”

Don’t announce that you are going to lose weight. You want to have made some significant progress. I think around 10 pounds is a good starting point to feel confident that you can lose weight. At some point others are going to notice and begin asking if you have lost weight. I truly recommend down playing the situation and let your weight loss speak for itself.

 

Include Family in Menus

 

You do want to include your family in the menu planning. Learning actual nutrients and how to create well-balanced meals and mini-meals is education that should be shared with the entire family. Make sure that you are selecting foods that you and your family love! There is no sense in eating foods that you don’t like. Food is to be enjoyed! Make sure when you go grocery shopping that you have your menus’ figured out and you buy only foods that go together and for which you have a plan.

 

Eating More Often

 

When you are losing weight you will find that you are eating more often than you are used to.  Mini-meals are a great way to get you from one major meal to the other. Some people call them snacks, but I think of junk food when I hear the word snacks, so I prefer mini-meal. Your family and friends may be interested as to what is going on. If you can just let them know you are a little hungry and decided to eat a little something. You should never be full or hungry. Your goal is to always feel just right.

 

Exercise With Others

Feel free to do physical activity with others, including your kids, just don’t associate it with losing weight. Your physical activity should always be about your health and not your weight. Stress management is another advantage of daily exercise. Even a walk after dinner with your spouse can be a nice way to finish the day. I really cannot stress this enough…DO NOT WORKOUT TO LOSE WEIGHT!! Work out daily aerobically and be sure to include weights into your routine switching off between arms and legs daily.

 

Once You Have Lost Weight

 

After you have lost weight you will have changed the way that you and your entire family looks at food and exercise. Remember that losing weight is a solo-project. But, the education of the principles of nutrition and daily exercises are great gifts to share.

 

Sherri Sue Fisher author of TimerDiet and TimerOrganizer

 

 

 

Power of Desire

Power of Desire

The power of desire is only matched by the power of fear.  Fear of getting sick, the fear of ailments, and the fear of the situation getting worse. The problem with fear is that it is in the future…until it is actually in the present, then fear actually becomes desire. The desire to recover from being sick, the desire to be free from an ailment, and the desire to make things better.

Fear is the future. Desire is the present. When you get your desire to make a change stronger than your ability to accept the status quo that is when positive change can happen. Sometimes, you just have to go in faith. Go with your desire, make a plan, and make it happen!

 

Fear of Failure

Sometimes fear of failure can keep us from even trying to live out our desires. I completely understand! When I decided it was time to lose weight I didn’t tell anyone until I had lost 10 pounds. I wanted to make sure that I was able to do this and I didn’t want to start something and then have everyone ask me…how is it coming!! Once I lost 10 pounds I felt confident that I could lose the weight that I wanted which was about 35 pounds. I needed that boost of confidence of those 10 pounds.

Progress

Remember to appreciate your progress! So many times we make progress and then we take it for granted and it slips away. So take time to appreciate your progress but keep your next goal in mind. Stay the course. Know what your plan is and when it is time to transition to maintenance. Don’t underestimate the words, “Good job!” can make to your psyche. Being proud of your own progress is paramount to future success.

Here is to wishing you all the success you desire!

Sherri Sue Fisher, author of TimerDiet and TimerOrganizer

 

 

 

Diet Schmiet

Diet Schmiet

Who wants to go on a diet? No one? I agree! Diets have in them one fatal flaw—there comes a time you need to stop. That is when all the hard work can be undone. The way you eat, needs to be a way of life.

Places to Eat

When you are out and about and hungry do you know the places you will go to get food? When you are hungry is not the time to decide that eating French fries and a double/double cheese burger is not a good idea. Make your menus ahead of time. Know what places have the best options and which of those options you have decided are in your best interest. Almost every restaurant (even fast food) have options that are well-balanced and perhaps by eating only a portion are great choices. The thing is that you cannot guess. You really must go to the website and find out what the nutritional values are.

Eat Well-balanced Meals

Eating well-balanced meals all the time is the easiest way to lose weight and keep the weight off. This means eating approximately the same amount of grams of dietary fat, protein, and carbohydrates. Unfortunately, we do not know what nutrient values food has unless we look them up. We are told, this is bad, this is good, but we don’t really know the nutritional value unless we look them up. Take fruits and vegetables for example. They are considered, good for you. However, fruits and vegetables are primarily carbohydrates, so you must add dietary fat and protein to your fruits and vegetables in order for them to be well-balanced.

How Much to Eat?

That is the question isn’t it? You need to begin to learn to listen to your body and when it starts to feel satisfied. If you feel full, you ate too much. It is a little trial and error at first. Once you get the right feeling you should be able to go anywhere from 2-4 hours without food. If you feel you need to eat sooner than 2 hours then perhaps you did not include enough dietary fat. If you can go longer than 4 hours, perhaps you ate too much dietary fat. If you feel dizzy, you probably had too much in carbohydrates and not enough protein.

Write It Down

Writing down what you ate and when and how you feel is the best way to learn to listen to your body. So go to my website www.timerdiet.com/journal and print out the journals for FREE to track your progress. You will be glad you have the historical information to see how far you have come.

Congratulate yourself along the way. Avoid rewards (they may backfire), but be sure to say to yourself, “Way to go!” when you see some progress.

Sherri Sue Fisher, author of TimerDiet and TimerOrganizer

Colonoscopy

Is It Time For Your Colonoscopy? 

So I took last week off from my blog because I needed to mentally prepare as well as physically prepare for my first ever colonoscopy. I wouldn’t say I am a hypochondriac but I would say I am a realist. I know anything can and will happen in life and you need to prepare. So many of you reading this are not yet in your 50’s which is the age that it is recommended that you get your first colonoscopy (I turned 52 this summer) but you more than likely have parents or grandparents and it  is important to have the discussion if you haven’t already.

Family History

Your family history is important, but so is your family. So if you don’t know if your family members that have reached their 50’s, have had their colonoscopy ask them. Colon cancer is curable if treated early. Plus, as I mentioned in Chapter 1 of TimerDiet it feels so good to get your annual exam and know everything is fine! I have to say for the last two years it has been on the back of my mind. My doctor of 25 years asked me when I turned 50 when I was going to have one. The last time I went in for my annual visit, I made a deal if there wasn’t anything abnormal in my stool sample I didn’t need to go—I passed, so I didn’t get one…but then this summer I got a postcard in the mail from Blue Cross Blue Shield.

Insurance Coverage

I received a post card from Blue Cross Blue Shield that changed my mind. I called about 5 times just to make sure I had everything right: an approved doctor, anesthesiologist, and hospital/treatment center. I asked a lot of questions (as you should, too!) and found out that if I had my colonoscopy before I had any symptoms the procedure did not go against my $7,500 deductible. Yeah! I called back, “Are you sure?” Yes, yes, yes…I think they were glad when I finally believed them. So far so good, the explanation of benefits for the hospital/treatment center came in today and Blue Cross Blue Shield paid all of it. If you wait until you have symptoms or something turns up during your annual exam, then you are not going to be so lucky. So check your insurance coverage and see if it is covered before you must have the procedure.

It Wasn’t Fun…but

I am not going to lie the whole ordeal was not fun, but it also wasn’t awful. Had I to do all over again, I would hydrate more a few days before the process begins, since I got a headache in the middle of the night. The headache was the worst part. Since it affected my ability to keep liquids down and made the morning of the procedure not so fun!  But, the procedure itself was easy peasy, and the prepping (other than the headache) was not as bad as I thought. Having said that, we are all grown-ups and from time to time we have to do things that are not so fun. So if it is time for you to do it—DO IT!! You will feel so good when it is over and you get the “ALL Clear” signal. If for some reason you don’t, more than likely you caught it early enough and the early treatment will have you doing well in no time!

Sherri Sue Fisher, author of TimerDiet and TimerOrganizer