Make your cake (or ice cream) and eat it too!

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Although I have left the ice cream business behind (yes, I was in the Ice Cream Business) , I do not believe ice cream itself is evil. While I DO believe even slightly overindulging in ice cream WILL throw off your efforts to lose weight after surgery – I do NOT see ice cream itself as evil.

When I was a boy, Mr. Meyers the local dairy farmer lived up the road. On Sundays (and only Sundays) he would make ice cream. Here is his recipe as I remember: Fresh cream, sugar and vanilla. Not a toxic chemical in sight. It was simple, wholesome and it tasted darned good. From my perspective, Mr. Meyers was a healthy, lean old guy. Even as he aged, his “ice cream” habit he never seemed to cause him to gain weight. The key is that Mr. Meyers only made and ate ice cream on Sunday’s in the summer. He made just enough for that day, he ate a small amount and enjoyed every bit of it. As an added bonus, his “ice cream Sunday” was an event. He took time and pride to make his indulgence and that made it worth even more. The time and thought that went into his ice cream gave him the gift of true appreciation for the food. He did not mindlessly devour it because he understood what it took to get it. Although making your own ice cream is fun, it is a true pain in the butt. It is time consuming and messy. This process makes it just inconvenient enough to allow you to eat ice cream while automatically restricting how much you will eat. As an added bonus, if you hand crank it, you burn calories in the process. Do this with your kids, and you now have created a family moment that they will never forget. Remember, the key to lasting weight loss does not lie in a diet plan, the key is lifestyle. If you love ice cream, develop a strategy that will allow ice cream into your world while at the same time, limiting the damage it causes you. Consider using an ice cream maker and begin to explore ways to make your ice cream recipes healthier. There are many ways to reduce the calories of homemade ice cream and include healthy ingredients such as pomegranates and walnuts. The secret is not to deprive your self. It is to lower the calories of what you eat by controlling the ingredients, portion size and how frequently you indulge. Another great frozen treat is to simply blend frozen fruit with ordinary yogurt. (I use an organic yogurt, of course) The frozen fruit actually freezes the yogurt and you have a frozen treat that looks and tastes just like soft serve ice cream. Trust me; I have seen a lot of soft serve ice cream!

After you make some ice cream, take it to the next level. Try making ALL your snacks. Absurd? Maybe and maybe not. According to Michael Pollan, author of Food Rules, Special occasion foods offer some of the great pleasures of life, so we shouldnt deprive ourselves of them, but the sense of occasion needs to be restored. One way is to start making these foods yourself; if you bake dessert yourself, you wont go to that much trouble everyday. (the key is to only bake single portions) What if you only ate French Fries that you made from scratch. No freezer fry cheatin! From potato to fry – – I bet you would eat fewer French Fries AND it would be more of an event. It might even be fun.

Another is to limit your consumption of such foods to weekends or special occasions. BUT, not every day is an occasion. Not every day calls for chocolate-covered cherries. In fact, Pollan is a proponent of the so-called S policy: No snacks, no seconds, no sweets – except on days that begin with the letter S. Betterness means living a life of joy, health and fulfillment – not deprivation. So take this as my advice on one way you can begin to eat better for now and for always.

Doc Russ The BetternessCoach is not only a Doctor of Physical Therapy but has lost over 230 pounds and maintained it!

He has combined his weight loss experience with his life-long passion for food, nutrition, exercise and human motivation into a small step, life change program he calls Betterness®.

As the world’s first Betterness® Coach, Doc Russ helps people achieve their goals by giving them permission to stop straining for perfection and start striving toward being better. He uses the 4 tenets of Betterness (Awareness, Accountability, Action and Adaptation) to help people become – and STAY – a little better every day.

If you want more Betterness® in your life, catch Russ online at www.betternessinstitute.org, where you find a selection of his writings and sign up for his free weekly newsletter.

Doc Russ is also available for private coaching (either in his office or over the phone), lectures and events.

Dr. Russ LHommeDieu, DPT, Betterness® Coach

The Betterness®Institute

Hamptons / North Fork 631.772.9212

Manhattan 212.365.4438

Toll Free: 888.4DocRuss (888)436.2787

Fax: 631.614.4291

www.betternessinstitute.org

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